Anixa Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ANIX), a California-based biotechnology company focused on the treatment and prevention of cancer, announced on Monday that, in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, it has initiated the transfer of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application that supported the Phase 1 clinical trial of its breast cancer vaccine.

With enrolment completed and encouraging immune response data observed in the Phase 1 trial, Anixa plans to advance the vaccine into a Phase 2 clinical trial and will assume full sponsorship of the IND. The IND, currently held by Cleveland Clinic, is in the process of being transferred to Anixa.

Anixa's breast cancer vaccine, developed in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, targets alpha-lactalbumin -- a lactation-associated protein that is typically expressed only in breast tissue during lactation, but which re-emerges in many forms of breast cancer. By establishing an immune response against alpha-lactalbumin-expressing cells, the vaccine may offer both therapeutic and preventive benefits for patients with tumours expressing this protein.