What if cancer prevention was as easy and affordable as avoiding the measles? Get a quick shot in the arm, slap a Band-Aid on the puncture wound, and head on home. It sounds too good to be true, and maybe it is. But…maybe it isn’t. The entrepreneurs at Immunophotonics are of the latter view, and they’ve changed career paths to prove it.
Oh yeah, and they claim to have the solution! This may sound like an overly optimistic claim, but then again, some kids really do grow up to become astronauts! So, before you jump to another webpage, finish reading this post and then click here to spend five minutes learning about the new drug-therapy you or someone you love might need someday.
What is the Solution?
The solution developed by Immunophotonics comprises an improved vaccine treatment coupled with a novel laser therapy. Essentially, it is a method that teaches the human body to recognize cancer cells as foreign so that the body is able to more accurately target and fight-off the cancer itself.
As it turns out, our body’s capacity to fight infection is pretty incredible—as long as it knows who it is fighting (i.e. how to identify the infection). With a little help from this vaccine and laser treatment, the immune system begins to recognize and target disguised cancer cells.
And, if the cancer is caught early enough, this treatment has been shown to completely eradicate the cancer cells. Exciting, right? We feel the same. In fact, since its inception, this idea has gained traction with some of the world’s leading academics and practitioners. Today, an All-Star team of advisors, a passionate group of executives, and a growing number of investors supports Immunophotonics in their mission to cure cancer.
Has it been Tested?
Yes. Immunophotonics has completed preclinical research and has conducted two 12-month off-shore pilot trials in human patients. The results have been incredible, and the vaccine therapy already has several stories to tell.
In one such instance, the vaccine stopped the rapid growth of a cancerous tumor in a female patient who had been unsuccessfully fighting cancer for years. Just before she received the vaccination therapy, her life expectancy was less than two weeks. The vaccine was administered, and the woman’s body began to respond. Though the cancer had all but won the war when the vaccine was delivered, growth of the tumor was slowed dramatically, and the patient was able to live for over one year longer than expected. Indeed, if the vaccine would have been administered earlier, this woman might still be alive.
Reassuringly, this story is not an outlier. There are several more just like it that indicate very promising results for this therapy, and more importantly, for the patients.
Why isn’t this treatment available in the U.S.?
Because this therapy still needs to gain FDA approval, it is currently unavailable in the United States. Alas, progressing through the FDA approval process is lengthy, exhausting, and exorbitantly expensive. In order to continue, Immunophotonics needs more capital. Thus, in a pitch to investors, accurate information about the market potential for this therapy is needed. This is where we come in.
The CELect Course Project
Our team will conduct an in-depth market analysis for this therapy, including research on solid tumor incidence rates and treatment options throughout the United States, China, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the U.K., India, Brazil, Russia and Japan. We have already conducted a great deal of research, and, as we have done so we’ve realized that there are often great disparities between the same statistics from different databases. This can be daunting, but with keen attention to detail we have been able to resolve many of these discrepancies and answer some of our own questions.
It appears that, going forward, much of our time will be spent identifying the validity and scope of the information we are finding. To this end, we are working hand-in-hand with the leaders of Immunophotonics to ensure that the direction we are taking is on-point with their objectives.
By the end of the semester, we will provide them with a consolidated market analysis in the form of a clean report that they can easily use and show to investors. In this way, our team can have a real and positive impact on the company itself, and to some degree, have a real and positive impact on the world. To think that our work could literally impact the lifespan of another person is extremely motivating, and our work product will reflect that motivation.
Remarks
Finally, let me conclude with a story and a plea: eleven days ago, Dee Christensen began experiencing waves of dizziness and severe fatigue. Three days later—symptoms persisting—her husband insisted that she go to the hospital. Within hours the doctors discovered a cancerous brain tumor. At stage four, the cancer appears to be winning, and the doctors have encouraged Dee to get her affairs in order. Dee is a fighter, but it is uncertain whether she’ll prevail in this particular battle.
While Dee is a stranger to you, she is no stranger at all to me. Dee is the mother of one of my close childhood friends. I received this terrible news just four days ago, and I can honestly tell you that I would feel entirely helpless if it weren’t for my association with Immunophotonics.
Working with them has given me an opportunity to feel like I am part of the bigger picture. Though the part I play at this juncture is small, it is still a part. And while my work might not benefit Dee before it’s too late, it may benefit the next patient…or the next…or the next!
So, to the reader: become a part of the bigger picture—if you are a student, volunteer, if you are a researcher, get on board, if you’re a doctor, share your knowledge, and if you are an investor, invest.
Submitted by Trevor Quist, JD/MSEE and Ryan Charnov, BSBA’14, students in the CELect entrepreneurship course with Prof. Clifford Holekamp.
