Ashley Kalinauskas \u201912 (CAHNR) has helped thousands of animals fight cancer.<\/p>\n
Kalinauskas is the CEO of Torigen Pharmaceuticals, a company that uses a novel cancer vaccine to help treat pets and other animals with cancer. Kalinauskas developed the vaccine with her master\u2019s advisor at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Mark Suckow.<\/p>\n
Even before she came to UConn, Kalinauskas had been interested in virology, where she majored in pathobiology and veterinary science (PVS).<\/p>\n
\u201cI read a lot of books on viruses,\u201d Kalinauskas says. \u201cI think viruses are super interesting. They\u2019re non-living but what they\u2019re able to do in terms of forcing disease is just wild.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kalinauskas worked on viral vaccine development in Professor Antonio Garmendia\u2019s lab at UConn. During her master\u2019s degree at Notre Dame, she worked on cancer vaccines.<\/p>\n
\u201cI switched from viral vaccines to cancer vaccines,\u201d Kalinauskas says. \u201cBut the underlying mechanisms are still pretty similar.\u201d<\/p>\n
During graduate school, Kalinauskas developed a business plan to commercialize a therapeutic vaccine that uses a patient\u2019s own tumor cells to teach the body how to fight off new tumors by boosting immune response.<\/p>\n
The proteins on the surface of cancer cells are distinct from healthy cells. This serves as a \u201cfingerprint\u201d that Kalinauskas and her team record. They then use this print to develop a personalized vaccine so that the body can identify cells with that fingerprint as cancerous. The vaccine helps the body attack cells left behind after surgery, or if the cancer has moved elsewhere in the body. It also allows the body to identify and destroy cancer cells if they begin to regrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt tells the body that if I see this cell again, we need to mark this for destruction and not let it live,\u201d Kalinauskas says.<\/p>\n
Kalinauskas quickly realized that developing this technology for human health applications would take years given the regulatory frameworks in place. The process to get vaccines for animals to market, however, is much quicker. This led Kalinauskas to decide to develop these vaccines as a treatment for cancers in animals rather than humans.<\/p>\n
Cancer in pets is a major problem as approximately half of all dogs over the age of 10 and a third of cats in the U.S. die from cancer.<\/p>\n
Kalinauskas says the way her education in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources<\/a> (CAHNR) emphasized the connections between human and animal help prepared her to pivot her technology.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had only taken human health classes, maybe I wouldn\u2019t have that understanding that our immune systems are really similar across species and that there is a huge problem when it comes to cancer in our pets,\u201d Kalinauskas says.<\/p>\n Kalinauskas says she is still in touch and works with several of her classmates who went on to become veterinarians.<\/p>\n \u201cUConn was super helpful in forming some of those connections,\u201d Kalinauskas says.<\/p>\n Torigen joined the Technology Incubation Program<\/a> at UConn in 2017. The company graduated from the program in 2022 and has established its own facility in Farmington.<\/p>\n The company provides veterinarians anywhere in the U.S. with a kit that they can use to extract a sample from the tumor. This sample is then used to quickly create the vaccine in their clinic that they can then administer the same day.<\/p>\n Torigen also has a diagnostic laboratory that conducts cancer screenings. They provide oncology consulting as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI love talking to the veterinarians and the owners we\u2019ve helped,\u201d Kalinauskas says. \u201cThat\u2019s the part that makes me so happy \u2013 to know that we\u2019re making a difference and doing a little bit of good in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the immune system is very similar across species, Torgien has seen a menagerie of patients across the thousands of animals they have treated so far. The vaccine has mostly been used in pets like cats, dogs, and horses. But Torigen has also been contacted for more exotic cases at zoos and aquariums including lions, tigers, bears, lemurs, dolphins and even a stingray.<\/p>\n Kalinauskas and her team have conducted clinical trials of the vaccine\u2019s efficacy, finding it significantly improves the lifespan of animals with specific aggressive solid-based tumors that can be surgically excised.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re moving the needle in the right direction for a subset of that population,\u201d Kalinauskas says. \u201cThat\u2019s what immunotherapy is able to do. It\u2019s not going to be a slam dunk for every single patient. But for some patients you can absolutely stimulate an immune response that is protective allowing them to live longer after a serious diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n Torigen\u2019s products and services are currently only available in the U.S., but they are working on rolling the product out globally to reach even more animals.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s really what\u2019s next \u2013 how can we expand this and better get the word out that this is an option for veterinaries and for owners to consider,\u201d Kalinauskas says. \u201cI want every tumor to come to Torigen.\u201d<\/p>\n This work relates to CAHNR\u2019s Strategic Vision area focused on\u00a0<\/em>Enhancing Health and Well-Being Locally, Nationally, and Globally.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n