New door of hope for cancer patients
On December 12, 2024, representatives of the Ministry of Health , the Ministry of State and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) witnessed Tam Anh General Hospital and Tam Anh Research Institute (TAMRI) announce the implementation of the VISTA-1 Project on clinical trials of the oral immunotherapy drug RBS2418 for cancer treatment in Vietnam. Tam Anh General Hospital system became the first research site outside the US of this project, providing access to new drugs and the opportunity to live longer for patients with late-stage colorectal cancer.
The first oral immunotherapy drug, RBS2418, works by activating the body's immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells by switching the tumor's "immune status" from "cold" to "hot". The drug is in oral form, easy to use, reduces costs, and increases access for many patients, especially for cancers that have very high treatment costs.
With good results in phase 1 at 10 research sites in the US, confirming its safety in cancer patients, the potential oral immunotherapy drug RBS2418 for cancer treatment was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for phase 2 clinical trials. Phase 2 studies evaluate the response effectiveness in cancer patients, primarily in late-stage colorectal cancer or patients who no longer respond to existing treatments.
For cancer patients who have no other options, clinical trials give them a ray of hope to access new treatments, new drugs, and rare drugs. In early December 2024, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health licensed the international clinical trial VISTA-1, phase 2A, opening up opportunities for patients with late-stage colorectal cancer in Vietnam to access advanced cancer treatments, equivalent to those in the US, without having to spend huge amounts of money to go abroad.
Previously, Vietnam usually only participated in phase 3 clinical trials of new drugs. The VISTA-1 project is the first phase 2A clinical trial in colorectal cancer in Vietnam. Many patients with late-stage colorectal cancer or patients who no longer respond to current treatments will directly benefit from this research project.
VISTA-1 is expected to enroll 150 patients in the United States and Vietnam. With the cooperation and active preparation of Tam Anh Research Institute from the beginning, the initial implementation was at Tam Anh General Hospital in Hanoi and Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, and is expected to expand to 3 other hospitals in the near future.
New step forward for Vietnam's healthcare industry
“RBS2418 is a promising drug that has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of colorectal cancer. The VISTA-1 study will provide important data to evaluate the drug’s effectiveness in patients. Collaboration with Vietnamese researchers in VISTA-1 is extremely necessary and valuable in this journey,” said Prof. Jeffrey S. Glenn, MD.
To become the official research site of VISTA-1, Tam Anh General Hospital System and Tam Anh Research Institute have made great preparations and investments in human resources, equipment, working processes, especially proactively approaching and participating from the very early stage of the initial research in the US. The hospital has invested in the first central testing laboratory in Vietnam to perform biological markers, parallel to the research laboratory in the US.
Accordingly, a new biomarker test was transferred from the beginning to be performed at the central laboratory for all research sites in Vietnam without having to transfer samples to laboratories abroad. Prof. Dr. Jeffrey S. Glenn assessed the infrastructure, professionalism and depth of the Tam Anh General Hospital System as “on par with the world”, capable of conducting successful clinical trials. “This is a great collaboration in drug development research, and will be the starting point for many other important research projects in the future with Tam Anh”, Prof. Dr. Glenn emphasized.
VISTA-1 is not only of great significance to cancer patients when they have access to research drugs right in Vietnam equivalent to patients in the US, but also an important step forward for the medical industry and innovative, breakthrough science in Vietnam when it is ready to meet the conditions to be able to receive and implement clinical research at a very early stage such as phase 2A, not just research at phase 3 as before.
The project also affirms the scientific research and development capacity of Vietnamese medicine, enhances Vietnam's position in the international medical environment, and opens up opportunities for early access to advanced cancer treatment methods for the people. Participation in international clinical trials such as VISTA-1 also helps Vietnam establish a treatment database on Vietnamese people, contributing to the completion of new drug profiles and is an important condition to promote the process of licensing new drugs in Vietnam in the future.
Sharing about the cooperation project, Doctor Phuong Le Tri, Executive Director of Tam Anh Research Institute (TAMRI), said that Tam Anh General Hospital System and Tam Anh Research Institute will make every effort to contribute a part of this breakthrough research, to be able to bring potential medicine to Vietnam, helping patients have more precious opportunities to live healthy lives.
Readers needing more information related to the VISTA-1 research project, please contact:
Tam Anh General Hospital: [email protected]
Tam Anh Research Institute: [email protected]
Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/co-hoi-tiep-can-thuoc-mien-dich-duong-uong-dieu-tri-ung-thu-giai-doan-cuoi-i753141/
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