Cancer Immunotherapy
Develops immunotherapeutic options to treat chronic and infectious diseases of relevance. It is currently focused on the development of a low cost, personalized, potentially safe and effective immunotherapy, named ConvitVax, targeted to underprivileged patients with breast cancer. This therapy seeks to boost the patient’s own immune system against the malignant cells by combining the patient’s own tumor cells with BCG and low concentrations of formalin. Studies in animals and a human pilot experience show that the combination of these components stimulate the immune system, achieving an effective and specific response against the body’s tumor cells, with minimal to no side-effects and a possible establishment of immune memory, which may reduce the possibility of disease recurrence.
Through partnerships with research and health centers, JCWO works to advance its clinical trials in the US, South America and Europe using the ConvitVax.
We aim to make immunotherapies available to patients who do not have access to new innovative therapies and in some cases, to standard of care treatments
Go through our history
2019
FJC and JCWO publish a new article titled “Evaluation of a ConvitVax/anti-PD-1 combined immunotherapy for breast cancer treatment”.
2018
Both organizations publish results of the study in a peer-reviewed journal with the title “Autologous tumor cells/bacillus Calmette-Guérin/formalin-based novel breast cancer vaccine induces an immune antitumor response”. The cancer immunotherapy (therapeutic vaccine) is registered with the name of ConvitVax. JCWO submits this project to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) office as an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to obtain permission to advance into the clinical phase in Venezuela and receives approval in late 2018 to begin phase I clinical trials. The FJC and JCWO research team designed and executed the ConvitVax toxicity assay using 3 times the therapeutic dose in Balb/c mice.
2015
The team of Fundación Jacinto Convit (FJC) publishes an article titled: “Autologous tumor lysate/Bacillus Calmette-Guérin immunotherapy as an adjuvant to conventional breast cancer therapy” in a peer reviewed journal, Clinical & Translational Oncology. FJC and the Jacinto Convit World Organization (JCWO) design and execute a pre-clinical study in a murine model with induced breast tumors using 4T1 cells.
2010
WHO recognizes doctor Jacinto Convit's treatment for leishmaniasis as part of the first generation of vaccines. Initiates the proposal of a pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of the cancer vaccine in patients with an advanced stage of the disease.
2006
Submits a formal proposal of a personalized breast cancer immunotherapy (therapeutic vaccine) with the publication “Development of an auto-vaccine + BCG and its possible application in cancer treatments” in Venezuela’s national scientific journal, Gaceta Médica de Caracas. This immunotherapy uses autologous tumor cells in combination with BCG and low concentrations of formalin.
2003
Doctor Convit and his team apply during 10 years the immunotherapy against leishmaniasis in Venezuela and observe a mean of 95.7% of cured patients with American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. They publish an article with these results and based on this success, the immunotherapy is applied in other countries of the Latin American region to treat patients with LCL.
2000
Doctor Convit becomes interested in cancer, concentrates on breast cancer. Identifies a diminished immunological response against the cancer cells and starts his first research studies on a proposed personalized immunotherapy against breast cancer.
1998
WHO endorses the vaccine and the procedures applied by doctor Jacinto Convit and indicates that the work complies with the required parameters. They express its approval to continue with the tests carried out in Venezuela.
1994
Doctor Convit together with seven laboratories worldwide carry out retrospective evaluations of the immunoprophylactic study and find that the vaccine reproduced by the WHO from the Wellcome Laboratory is substantially less active and with a lower antigenic content than the one used in Venezuela in previous studies. Conducts comparative studies between patients with leprosy treated with multidrug therapy, immunotherapy or the combination of both, show substantial early and persistent cell-mediated reactivity to M. leprae in many multibacillary patients treated with the combination.
1993
Evaluates the clinical and immunological spectrum of LCL.
1992
Publishes results on the evaluation of the vaccine used for an immunoprophylactic study, in which it is shown that there is no evidence in the first 5 years of follow-up that it offers significantly better protection against leprosy than BCG alone. The vaccine for this study was prepared by Wellcome Laboratories (UK) under a contract with the World Health Organization (WHO).
1989
Uses the immunotherapy against American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis as a treatment for all localized, intermediate and diffuse forms of the disease.
1987
Publishes the first comparative study between his leishmaniasis vaccine and the standard treatment for this disease.
1986
Publishes the final description of the immunotherapy against leishmaniasis. Describes a highly effective immunotherapy (therapeutic vaccine) for localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL). Doctor Convit and his team apply the immunotherapy against leprosy in Venezuela between 1979 and 1986 in 531 patients with this disease. The results show a significant clinical improvement, as well as an immune response with positive results.
1980
Doctor Convit publishes the final description of the immunotherapy against leprosy.
1979
Observes a clinical evidence of a favorable immune response when leprosy patients are inoculated with a mix of Mycobacterium leprae and BCG.
1978
Defines the final prospect of a vaccine against leprosy and publishes his ideas and results.
1974
Doctor Convit performs a successful culture of the mycobacteria in the armadillo and makes the final production of a specific immunotherapy (therapeutic vaccine) in combination with BCG to treat patients with leprosy.
Describes similarities between leprosy and leishmaniasis based on clinical, immunological, and pathological aspects.
1972
Develops the Competency in Clearing Bacilli test (CCB test) and describes its correlation with the clinical aspects according to the immune response of the patient. Also, inoculates intradermal injections of the Mycobacterium leprae in combination with BCG, which activates the local immune response.
1968
Performs the evaluation and identification of the immune response in patients with leishmaniasis.
1967
Performs immunotherapy assays to induce the immune system and respond against the infecting bacteria.
1964
Begins experimental research with the Mycobacterium leprae. Inoculates the bacteria in experimental animals to perform differentiation studies and identify the immune and cellular response.
1958
Describes the clinical, immunological and parasitological aspects of leishmaniasis.
1952
Observes the variation of the reaction to lepromin and tuberculin in leprosy patients after BCG vaccination.
1950
Doctor Jacinto Convit begins testing several drugs and the use of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to treat leprosy.
