The picture of health, barrister Tom Worthen sits on a sofa talking in a rather matter-of-fact fashion to the breakfast TV presenter about his brush with death.
His cancer, melanoma, was so far progressed there was, he said, only a 50% chance of survival.
Three years on from this grim prognosis he remains cancer-free following a treatment that uses the body’s own immune system control the disease.
He is one of 35 patients that have received SCIB1, developed by AIM-listed Scancell (LON:SCLP) using its ImmunoBody platform.
The first 10 were very hard–to-treat cases where the melanoma was inoperable. A further 20 had undergone surgery to have the cancer cut out, or resected.
The outlook for the latter grouping, patients with stage III and IV cancer, remained fairly bleak, so the results to date from Scancell’s phase I/II clinical trial are remarkable.
Dr Richard Goodfellow, the company’s joint chief executive, is not a man given to hyperbole. But even his precise scientific mind allowed him to characterise the data as “highly encouraging”.
All 20 ‘resected patients’ are still alive, with median survival time for those on the 2-4 milligram doses now in excess of three years.
Scancell is at the cutting edge of a new arena of cancer medicine called immuno-oncology that, as mentioned earlier, uses the body’s immune system to combat the disease.
SCIB1 is programmed to seek out and kill microscopic metastatic cells that are carried by the bloodstream to seed around the body.
Even more clever, it is designed specifically to target melanoma.
The treatment, which uses electricity to stimulate cancer killing T-cells, allows the body to wipe out the seedlings, or at the very least keep them under control.
Scancell has also created SCIB2 (for lung cancer) and SCIB3 (prostate) using the ImmunoBody platform.
The former has generated some impressive pre-clinical data.
Goodfellow reveals the last patient in the current trial will finish in October. The next step will be to collate all the researchers' findings into a comprehensive report that will be ready to submit to regulators at some point in the first quarter of next year.
Interestingly, the Scancell boss raises the possibility that SCIB1 might leapfrog from phase I/II trials straight into phase III, without carrying out a fuller phase II trial.
This would be an impressive feat if the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) allows it and a vindication of the drug’s potential.
It would also propel the SCIB1 a lot further along the value chain.
There is still a lot of work to do, but Goodfellow told Proactive: “I think we could go to phase III, though there is a debate on how much data we will need.
“It [SCIB1] is very safe and we think the clinical data is compelling, so we think there is a good case to go straight through to phase III.”
Investors, many of whom bought in via venture capital trusts and government’s tax efficient EIS programme, would have cause for celebration if this happens.
They are acutely aware of SCIB1’s huge potential.
But what of big pharma; do they rate the technology highly enough to want to partner with Scancell?
Too canny to be dragged into this sort of tricky conversation, Goodfellow remains tight-lipped on the prospect of cutting a collaboration deal.
It is worth pointing out that immuno-oncology of the type being pioneered by Scancell is now an established strand of cancer medicine.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche have already created drugs that use the immune system to tackle the disease.
This means laggards in the field will already be looking at ways to catch-up. Acquisition or partnerships are two easy ways to do this, analyst said.
Sector experts also pointed out that the new wave of checkpoint inhibitors would work synergistically with treatments such s SCIB1.
In layman’s terms, and I’m possibly over-simplifying things here, checkpoint inhibitors open the doors to cancer cells to allow the body’s immune system fight the disease.
Imagine then if these treatments worked in tandem with a potent drug specifically programmed to seek and eradicate a particular cancer - the one for a specific strain of the disease for which the patient has been diagnosed.
It would be the pharmacological equivalent of handing a skilled burglar the keys to the crown jewels.
So, most commentators reckon there will be a great deal of interest in SCIB1 when the doors open for talks.
A very lean business by biotech standards, Scancell is burning through around £2.5mln a year and analysts estimate the firm should have enough in the bank to see it through to the end of next year.
By that time it will hope to have concluded the all-important partnership discussions.
Scancell might be well advised to raise a little more cash, giving it more time to negotiate a deal with big pharma, analysts said.
It might also be tempted to get FDA clearance for phase III trials before it concludes a tie-up.
“It is all about the value we create for shareholders,” Goodfellow said. “Where do we stop adding value? Where is the critical point we realise value for shareholders?”
The firm has another technology, a cancer immunotherapy platform called Moditope, that is expected to deliver drug candidates ready to enter clinical trials at the end of next year.
“We will need more money for that,” Goodfellow conceded. “We are very excited about Moditope.”
The shares are worth triple their current value, based on broker Panmure Gordon’s 79p price target and assessment of the business and its technologies.
Analyst Mike Mitchell is bullish, but knows Scancell's future hinges on some tricky negotiations with big(ger) pharma.
“Continued supportive updates reaffirm our wider view of the company as one with a number of therapeutic opportunities and with strong partnering potential.
“As with many other biotech companies focused on asset development with finite cash resources, the ability of the company to transform its platform into long-term value upside will pivot on its success in this regard.”