Biovest International has filed for regulatory approval to open up to 30 new clinical sites for its pivotal Phase III trial of BiovaxID for the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The opening of these sites is expected to dramatically increase the number of patients being treated with BiovaxID during the next 12 to 18 months, the company said.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system involving a type of white blood cell called a lymphocyte, is found in 65,000 new patients each year in the United States. Although positive response rates are often seen with current treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, lymphocyte transplantation and monoclonal antibodies, the cancer invariably returns and is usually ultimately fatal. BiovaxID is a targeted therapeutic that stimulates the immune system to seek out and destroy only cancerous B-cell lymphocytes without causing damage to normal B-cell lymphocytes or to other cells.