(March 26, 2007) A new vaccine to treat dogs with late-stage melanoma received conditional approval from the United States Department of Agriculture, it was announced today. Conditional approval allows the vaccine's makers to begin distributing the vaccine for use while collecting efficacy data to support full approval at a later date.

This vaccine, which is ultimately intended for use in humans, was created by Cancer Research Institute Clinical Investigator Dr. Jedd Wolchok at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and was tested in animal studies by Dr. Philip Bergman at the CRI-funded Donaldson-Atwood Cancer Clinic at the Animal Medical Center, also in New York. Drs. Wolchok and Bergman spoke recently at a CRI Breakthroughs at Breakfast morning lecture about their vaccine and how their collaboration has produced the first melanoma vaccine for dogs and is accelerating the development of a similar vaccine for use in humans.

Listen to the Breakthroughs at Breakfast lecture (2006.11.01).