Some of you may have already seen this, but here is the schedule for the Oncolytics Biotech related presentations with excerpts from the abstracts.
Abstract Number: 906
Session Title: Therapeutic Implications of Oncogenic Pathways 1
Presentation Title: Replication of mutant strains of oncolytic reovirus in different cell lines
Presentation Start/End Time: Sunday, Apr 13, 2008, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall B-F, San Diego Convention Center
Poster Section: 5
Poster Board Number: 17
Author Block: Guy Lemay. Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
Murine NIH-3T3 cells are poorly infected by mammalian reovirus but support productive infection upon cell transformation by H-Ras(G12V), leading to the idea that reovirus could be used as an “oncolytic” virus.
Altogether, our data thus support the idea that cellular factors affecting reovirus replication are complex and linked to pathways leading to cellular transformation. We further suggest that viral strains should be chosen or manipulated to optimize their oncolytic potential. The σ3 protein appears as the most likely viral factor to be involved in modulating the virus’ ability to replicate in different normal or transformed cell types.
See the original page here.
Abstract Number: 3751
Session Title: Pediatric Cancer 3
Presentation Title: Radiation in combination with Reolysin for pediatric sarcomas
Presentation Start/End Time: Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008, 8:00 AM -12:00 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall B-F, San Diego Convention Center
Poster Section: 15
Poster Board Number: 12
Author Block: Pooja Gidwani, Wendong Zhang, Laibin Liu, Chandan Guha, E Anders Kolb. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, A I duPont Children's Hospital, Wilmington, DE
With advances in the scientific knowledge of molecular mechanisms of cancer and viral replication, oncolytic viruses have emerged as an interesting potential therapeutic strategy for several human cancers.
Conclusions: Our data suggests that the combination of reovirus and radiation therapy has enhanced efficacy than either of the individual treatments alone in pediatric sarcomas. This is especially interesting since reovirus was administered systemically instead of intratumorally suggesting the potential use of this treatment modality even in metastatic and hard to reach tumors. Our data warrants further testing of this combination in clinical trials.
See the original page here.
Abstract Number: 4971
Session Title: Novel Genomic Approaches, Drugs, Targets, and Strategies
Presentation Title: Targeting multiple myeloma with oncolytic viral therapy
Presentation Start/End Time: Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008, 4:40 PM - 4:55 PM
Location: Room 30A-C, San Diego Convention Center
Author Block: Chandini M. Thirukkumaran, Zhong-Qiao Shi, Jason Spurell, Douglas Stewart, Joanne Luider, Don Morris. Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, AB, Canada, Calgary Laboratory Services, Calgary, AB, Canada
In the present study we investigate 1) The oncolytic ability of reovirus against a larger number of MM cell lines and ex vivo patient specimens in order to assess MM sensitivity to reovirus in a community population, 2) Reovirus purging efficacy in a murine model of transplantation.
Conclusions: The sensitivity of reovirus towards MM and its lack of effect human stem cells highlight the potential of reovirus as a purging agent during autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplants for MM. The SCID/NOD model system used in the present study appears suitable for evaluating reovirus purging efficacy in vivo. Currently, we are in the process of studying reovirus purging efficacy in vivo and its purging capacity of ex vivo MM patient tumor in order to generate data for a future phase I clinical trial.
See the original page here.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Dr. Francis J. Giles receives Irish Medical Science Award
Article from the UT Health Science Center website detailing the honor awarded Dr. Giles which was mentioned in my previous post.
SAN ANTONIO — The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio announced today that Francis J. Giles, M.D., M.B., F.R.C.P.I., F.R.C.Path, received the Medtronic Award at the National University of Ireland Galway Alumni Awards Gala. The Medtronic Award for Healthcare and Medical Science acknowledges Dr. Giles’ contributions to the field of health care and medical science.
Dr. Giles is the deputy director of the CTRC and director of The Institute for Drug Development, CTRC’s internationally acclaimed oncology drug development program. He also serves concurrently as the chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Health Science Center. Dr. Giles, who received his medical training at the National University of Ireland Galway, has focused his clinical and research efforts on providing therapy for patients suffering from treatment-resistant or refractory cancer. His interests include lymphomas, multiple myeloma, developmental therapeutics, stem cell transplantation and leukemias. He has pioneered the use of many agents that are now in regular use as targeted therapies for patients with cancer.
“I am delighted and honored to be a recipient of this award,” Dr. Giles said. “I am grateful to accept this award on behalf of the enormous number of people in a wide variety of preclinical and clinical disciplines who are working so hard around the world to eliminate cancer.”The N.U.I. Galway’s ninth annual gala banquet took place at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway, Ireland, on Saturday, March 1, 2008.
The Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, located in San Antonio, Texas, is one of the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug trials program in the world, and participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.uthscsa.edu.
To see the original article go here.
SAN ANTONIO — The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio announced today that Francis J. Giles, M.D., M.B., F.R.C.P.I., F.R.C.Path, received the Medtronic Award at the National University of Ireland Galway Alumni Awards Gala. The Medtronic Award for Healthcare and Medical Science acknowledges Dr. Giles’ contributions to the field of health care and medical science.
Dr. Giles is the deputy director of the CTRC and director of The Institute for Drug Development, CTRC’s internationally acclaimed oncology drug development program. He also serves concurrently as the chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Health Science Center. Dr. Giles, who received his medical training at the National University of Ireland Galway, has focused his clinical and research efforts on providing therapy for patients suffering from treatment-resistant or refractory cancer. His interests include lymphomas, multiple myeloma, developmental therapeutics, stem cell transplantation and leukemias. He has pioneered the use of many agents that are now in regular use as targeted therapies for patients with cancer.
“I am delighted and honored to be a recipient of this award,” Dr. Giles said. “I am grateful to accept this award on behalf of the enormous number of people in a wide variety of preclinical and clinical disciplines who are working so hard around the world to eliminate cancer.”The N.U.I. Galway’s ninth annual gala banquet took place at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway, Ireland, on Saturday, March 1, 2008.
The Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, located in San Antonio, Texas, is one of the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug trials program in the world, and participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.uthscsa.edu.
To see the original article go here.
Article: Viruses set to 'kill' cancer
Interview with Doctor Frank Giles
From the Irish Medical Times
http://www.imt.ie/news/2008/03/viruses_set_to_kill_cancer.html
by Gary Culliton
Galway-born Dr Frank Giles is responsible for cancer care in a much larger population than the entire island of Ireland. He heads up functional clinical cancer services for many millions of people in Texas as Chief of the Division of Haematology and Medical Oncology at the San Antonio Cancer Institute. These include radiation oncology and surgical oncology.
“To me, the concept of Ireland as discrete units, rather than one functioning medical complex, doesn’t bear any approximation of the reality of the world now,” he told Irish Medical Times before receiving the Medtronic Award for Healthcare & Medical Science from NUI Galway recently.
Viruses are hard to kill and for this reason, Dr Giles’ team is working towards targeting them at cancer. Part of the reason a virus attacks in particular places in our body at certain times, depends on the metabolic state of the cells.
“If a virus likes to infect cells that have a specific kinase pattern, maybe we can find cancers that preferentially have that profile. We now have administered a virus to humans as an anti-cancer agent,” Dr Giles said. “There have been sufficient responses in the first cohort of 12 people to expand the study.” Dr Giles is working on three anti-cancer viruses: GT-111, Reolysin and SVV-001.
Kinase activation
Dr Giles’ team will be publishing a paper on the subject shortly. The fairly benign virus reolysin likes to infect and kill the cells of one difficult-to-treat sarcoma – a nasty solid tumour with a particular kinase activation. Dr Giles’ team in San Antonio has treated an initial 12 people with this virus.
“At least one is responding and some others have stable disease, so we’re expanding the study. It’s very early, we don’t even know how much is a good dose of the virus to administer. But it’s a whole new world. In this new century, we may be able to turn these traditional enemies of ours to our advantage,” he said. Another virus is designed to switch off or kill the new blood supply which metastatic tumours subtend to themselves.
Dr Giles is also the Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the San Antonio Cancer Institute. He has pioneered the use of many agents that are now in regular use as targeted therapies for patients with cancer. He has focused his clinical and research efforts on providing therapy for patients suffering from treatment-resistant or refractory cancer. His interests include lymphomas, multiple myeloma, developmental therapeutics, stem cell transplantation and leukaemias.
Cell population needed
Even in tumours where there is very high percentage cell ‘kill’ following therapy, that does not equate to cure. “We know that there is a very small percentage of cancer cells that are capable of propagating and keeping the tumour alive,” Dr Giles said. “That is the cell population which you need to eliminate. Quite often, they have subtle but important differences from their progeny.”
In the next ten years, it is thought that we will see cancer treatment move away from long-term remission to targeted cures. Hard-to-access cancer stem cells are the final barrier to a very significant increase in the cure rate. These cells are the last grouping which needs to be understood, in order to cure a lot more people. The impact of Dr Giles’ work in this area will be felt in general clinics within five years.
Following his work in the areas of leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma, Dr Giles is now focused more on the solid tumours like sarcoma and ovarian cancer. “As the therapy changes, the old divides between histology – what a solid lump of tumour looks like versus a leukaemia – are becoming much less important than what actually drives the cancer,” Dr Giles said.
Chronic myeloid leukaemia and a gastro-intestinal solid tumour (GIST) look as different as night and day. However, both are driven by molecular abnormalities that are sensitive to the same drug Gleevec (imatinib) that Dr Giles was involved in developing. Pathology is as important as ever, but disorders which may not be remotely alike may be susceptible to a common mode of attack. Agents can target kinase cell-proliferating enzymes. These are modulated in normal tissue. Genetically, these are driven hyper-active in a tumour.
Dr Giles left Galway, where he had worked, almost 20 years ago. He went to St James’s Hospital in Dublin, then to London, to Chapel Hill in North Carolina and then to UCLA in California. He has been in Texas for 11 years.
“We can do much of the feasibility work in getting a drug to switch off a receptor before the drug is even found. In my days in Galway, I would not have imagined that in a medical career, I would regularly be in contact with crystalographers. Somebody has to design a target and ask if it is drugable, if we can get a drug in there. The more sophisticated the drugs become, the less experimental we are. There is much more targeting,” Dr Giles said.
Returning to Ireland
“Returning to Ireland and contributing to Irish medicine at this level is something that is very important to me,” said Dr Giles, who is likely in the future to take up a university position based between Dublin and Galway. “In the process of doing these things, we do generate a lot of intellectual property (IP) patents. It is time for Ireland to advance to the more revenue-rich environment of generating the IP and developing the compounds themselves,” he added.
From the Irish Medical Times
http://www.imt.ie/news/2008/03/viruses_set_to_kill_cancer.html
by Gary Culliton
Galway-born Dr Frank Giles is responsible for cancer care in a much larger population than the entire island of Ireland. He heads up functional clinical cancer services for many millions of people in Texas as Chief of the Division of Haematology and Medical Oncology at the San Antonio Cancer Institute. These include radiation oncology and surgical oncology.
“To me, the concept of Ireland as discrete units, rather than one functioning medical complex, doesn’t bear any approximation of the reality of the world now,” he told Irish Medical Times before receiving the Medtronic Award for Healthcare & Medical Science from NUI Galway recently.
Viruses are hard to kill and for this reason, Dr Giles’ team is working towards targeting them at cancer. Part of the reason a virus attacks in particular places in our body at certain times, depends on the metabolic state of the cells.
“If a virus likes to infect cells that have a specific kinase pattern, maybe we can find cancers that preferentially have that profile. We now have administered a virus to humans as an anti-cancer agent,” Dr Giles said. “There have been sufficient responses in the first cohort of 12 people to expand the study.” Dr Giles is working on three anti-cancer viruses: GT-111, Reolysin and SVV-001.
Kinase activation
Dr Giles’ team will be publishing a paper on the subject shortly. The fairly benign virus reolysin likes to infect and kill the cells of one difficult-to-treat sarcoma – a nasty solid tumour with a particular kinase activation. Dr Giles’ team in San Antonio has treated an initial 12 people with this virus.
“At least one is responding and some others have stable disease, so we’re expanding the study. It’s very early, we don’t even know how much is a good dose of the virus to administer. But it’s a whole new world. In this new century, we may be able to turn these traditional enemies of ours to our advantage,” he said. Another virus is designed to switch off or kill the new blood supply which metastatic tumours subtend to themselves.
Dr Giles is also the Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the San Antonio Cancer Institute. He has pioneered the use of many agents that are now in regular use as targeted therapies for patients with cancer. He has focused his clinical and research efforts on providing therapy for patients suffering from treatment-resistant or refractory cancer. His interests include lymphomas, multiple myeloma, developmental therapeutics, stem cell transplantation and leukaemias.
Cell population needed
Even in tumours where there is very high percentage cell ‘kill’ following therapy, that does not equate to cure. “We know that there is a very small percentage of cancer cells that are capable of propagating and keeping the tumour alive,” Dr Giles said. “That is the cell population which you need to eliminate. Quite often, they have subtle but important differences from their progeny.”
In the next ten years, it is thought that we will see cancer treatment move away from long-term remission to targeted cures. Hard-to-access cancer stem cells are the final barrier to a very significant increase in the cure rate. These cells are the last grouping which needs to be understood, in order to cure a lot more people. The impact of Dr Giles’ work in this area will be felt in general clinics within five years.
Following his work in the areas of leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma, Dr Giles is now focused more on the solid tumours like sarcoma and ovarian cancer. “As the therapy changes, the old divides between histology – what a solid lump of tumour looks like versus a leukaemia – are becoming much less important than what actually drives the cancer,” Dr Giles said.
Chronic myeloid leukaemia and a gastro-intestinal solid tumour (GIST) look as different as night and day. However, both are driven by molecular abnormalities that are sensitive to the same drug Gleevec (imatinib) that Dr Giles was involved in developing. Pathology is as important as ever, but disorders which may not be remotely alike may be susceptible to a common mode of attack. Agents can target kinase cell-proliferating enzymes. These are modulated in normal tissue. Genetically, these are driven hyper-active in a tumour.
Dr Giles left Galway, where he had worked, almost 20 years ago. He went to St James’s Hospital in Dublin, then to London, to Chapel Hill in North Carolina and then to UCLA in California. He has been in Texas for 11 years.
“We can do much of the feasibility work in getting a drug to switch off a receptor before the drug is even found. In my days in Galway, I would not have imagined that in a medical career, I would regularly be in contact with crystalographers. Somebody has to design a target and ask if it is drugable, if we can get a drug in there. The more sophisticated the drugs become, the less experimental we are. There is much more targeting,” Dr Giles said.
Returning to Ireland
“Returning to Ireland and contributing to Irish medicine at this level is something that is very important to me,” said Dr Giles, who is likely in the future to take up a university position based between Dublin and Galway. “In the process of doing these things, we do generate a lot of intellectual property (IP) patents. It is time for Ireland to advance to the more revenue-rich environment of generating the IP and developing the compounds themselves,” he added.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Announces Issuance of 26th U.S. Patent
CALGARY, March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (TSX: ONC, NASDAQ: ONCY) ("Oncolytics") today announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent 7,344,711 entitled "Use of Adenoviruses Mutated in the VA Genes for Cancer Treatment." The claims describe methods of treating cancer using adenoviruses that are modified to selectively replicate in cancer cells that have an activated Ras pathway.
"This patent expands our adenovirus portfolio both geographically and with respect to which adenovirus variants can be used," said Mary Ann Dillahunty, Vice President of Intellectual Property for Oncolytics.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Announces Publication of Research on Immune Response to REOLYSIN(R) during a Phase I Clinical Trial
CALGARY, March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (TSX: ONC, NASDAQ: ONCY) ('Oncolytics') reported today that Dr. Kevin Harrington and his research group at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, U.K. published the results of their work characterizing immune system responses to administration of intravenous REOLYSIN® in a Phase I clinical trial. The paper, entitled "Characterization of the Adaptive and Innate Immune Response to Intravenous Oncolytic Reovirus (Dearing Type 3) during a Phase I Clinical Trial" appears online in the March 6, 2008 issue of Gene Therapy.
"This important work further defines the relationship between viral therapy and human immune response, and supports the development of our ongoing Phase II clinical trial program," said Dr. Brad Thompson, President and CEO of Oncolytics.
The investigators conducted a detailed analysis of the immune effects of intravenous viral therapy by collecting and analyzing immune response to the presence of the virus. The results suggest that reovirus may stimulate the immune system to mount a dynamic immune response to the presence of virus, increasing the potential to significantly enhance the efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy. About a third of those patients also showed increases in NK (natural killer) cells following therapy. The data support the development of interventions aimed at blunting the patient's immune response, although preclinical data also suggest that maintaining a baseline level is necessary to restrict systemic spread/toxicity of the virus.
Read the abstract here.
"This important work further defines the relationship between viral therapy and human immune response, and supports the development of our ongoing Phase II clinical trial program," said Dr. Brad Thompson, President and CEO of Oncolytics.
The investigators conducted a detailed analysis of the immune effects of intravenous viral therapy by collecting and analyzing immune response to the presence of the virus. The results suggest that reovirus may stimulate the immune system to mount a dynamic immune response to the presence of virus, increasing the potential to significantly enhance the efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy. About a third of those patients also showed increases in NK (natural killer) cells following therapy. The data support the development of interventions aimed at blunting the patient's immune response, although preclinical data also suggest that maintaining a baseline level is necessary to restrict systemic spread/toxicity of the virus.
Read the abstract here.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Collaborators to Present Reovirus Research at AACR Annual Meeting
CALGARY, AB, --- March 13, 2008 -Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (TSX: ONC, NASDAQ: ONCY) announced that two abstracts covering preclinical work with reovirus are available today on the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) website at www.aacr.org, and on the Oncolytics website at www.oncolyticsbiotech.com. Both presentations are scheduled to be delivered at the AACR Annual Meeting in San Diego, California April 12-16, 2008.
The first abstract, entitled "Targeting Multiple Myeloma with Oncolytic Viral Therapy" covers preclinical work using reovirus as a purging agent during autologous (harvested from the patient themselves) hematopoietic stem cell transplants for multiple myeloma. The results demonstrated that up to 70% of multiple myeloma cell lines tested showed reovirus sensitivity and reovirus induced cell death mediated through apoptosis. An oral presentation is scheduled to be delivered by Dr. Chandini Thirukkumaran of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, AB on Tuesday, April 15, 2008.
The second abstract, entitled "Radiation in Combination with Reolysin for Pediatric Sarcomas" covers preclinical work using reovirus in combination with radiation in mice implanted with pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma tumours. The results demonstrated that the combination of reovirus and radiation significantly enhanced efficacy compared to either treatment alone in terms of tumour regression and event free survival. A poster presentation is scheduled to be delivered by Dr. Pooja Gidwani of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York on Tuesday, April 15, 2008.
"This exciting work highlights the potential of expanding the use of the reovirus to include being used as a purging agent during autologous blood stem cell transplants, as well as a treatment for childhood sarcomas," said Dr, Matt Coffey, Chief Scientific Officer of Oncolytics.
A direct link to the abstracts can be found by going here and searching for reovirus.
The first abstract, entitled "Targeting Multiple Myeloma with Oncolytic Viral Therapy" covers preclinical work using reovirus as a purging agent during autologous (harvested from the patient themselves) hematopoietic stem cell transplants for multiple myeloma. The results demonstrated that up to 70% of multiple myeloma cell lines tested showed reovirus sensitivity and reovirus induced cell death mediated through apoptosis. An oral presentation is scheduled to be delivered by Dr. Chandini Thirukkumaran of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, AB on Tuesday, April 15, 2008.
The second abstract, entitled "Radiation in Combination with Reolysin for Pediatric Sarcomas" covers preclinical work using reovirus in combination with radiation in mice implanted with pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma tumours. The results demonstrated that the combination of reovirus and radiation significantly enhanced efficacy compared to either treatment alone in terms of tumour regression and event free survival. A poster presentation is scheduled to be delivered by Dr. Pooja Gidwani of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York on Tuesday, April 15, 2008.
"This exciting work highlights the potential of expanding the use of the reovirus to include being used as a purging agent during autologous blood stem cell transplants, as well as a treatment for childhood sarcomas," said Dr, Matt Coffey, Chief Scientific Officer of Oncolytics.
A direct link to the abstracts can be found by going here and searching for reovirus.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Oncology Biologics Development Primer Materials Released
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. to Present at BioSquare 2008
CALGARY, AB, --- March 10, 2008--- Dr. Brad Thompson, President and CEO of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (TSX: ONC, NASDAQ: ONCY), will present a corporate overview of the Company at the BioSquare 2008 Conference on Thursday, March 13, 2008. The event is being held at the Congress Center in Basel, Switzerland from March 12-14, 2008.
For more information on BioSquare go here.
For more information on BioSquare go here.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Update on Kenny
Check out Deborah Foster's "When the Family has Cancer" page for an update on Kenny, a patient in Oncolytics Biotech's phase II program.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Reports Highlights and Financial Results for 2007
CALGARY, AB, March 6, 2008 --- Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (TSX:ONC, NASDAQ:ONCY) (“Oncolytics” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2007.
“2007 was our most productive year to date, marking a significant expansion of the Company’s clinical trial program for REOLYSIN® with Phase II studies and combination drug therapy studies being expanded and initiated,” said Dr. Brad Thompson, President and CEO of Oncolytics. “This activity was supported by further advances in our preclinical development program, manufacturing, and intellectual property.”
“2007 was our most productive year to date, marking a significant expansion of the Company’s clinical trial program for REOLYSIN® with Phase II studies and combination drug therapy studies being expanded and initiated,” said Dr. Brad Thompson, President and CEO of Oncolytics. “This activity was supported by further advances in our preclinical development program, manufacturing, and intellectual property.”
Selected Highlights:
Clinical Trial Results Presented
- Final results from our Phase I U.K. systemic administration trial, and our U.S. Phase I systemic administration trial at ASCO;
- Positive interim results from our U.K. Phase Ia/Ib combination REOLYSIN® and radiation trial;
Clinical Trial Progress
- Commenced patient enrolment in three combination REOLYSIN® and chemotherapy trials in the U.K.;
- Commenced patient enrolment in a U.S. Phase II trial for patients with various sarcomas that have metastasized to the lung;
- U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) filed a protocol with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a Phase II melanoma trial with REOLYSIN®;
- Approval to begin a Phase I combination REOLYSIN® and cyclophosphamide trial in the U.K.;
- In January 2008, the NCI filed a protocol with the U.S. FDA to conduct a Phase I/II ovarian, peritoneal and fallopian tube cancer trial;
- In January 2008, met the criteria to expand to full enrolment of 52 patients in our U.S. Phase II sarcoma trial;
Manufacturing
- Completed scale up of our manufacturing process to the 40-litre level and investigated further increases in scale to the 100-litre level;
Financial and Intellectual Property
- Completed a public offering that added gross proceeds of $13.8 million to our financial reserves; and,
- Secured an additional eight U.S, patents and one Canadian patent, bringing our current total to more than 165 patents issued worldwide;
“We expect 2008 to be an outstanding year as we move ahead with our Phase II program and begin to focus our efforts in the clinical program in key indications,” said Thompson. “With solid preclinical and Phase I results, a scalable manufacturing process, a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio and the financial resources to support our Phase II program, we are well positioned for an exciting and productive 2008.”
View the complete report here.
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