On January 19th, 2015 Karcinolys SAS, a privately-held biotechnology company developing the Myb34.5 oncolytic virus, reported that data from preclinical studies in pancreatic cancer models were featured in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy (Press release, Karcinolys, JAN 19, 2015, View Source [SID1234525529]).
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The paper titled "Targeted oncolytic HSV-1 eradicates experimental pancreatic tumours" was authored by Marion Gayral and Pierre Cordelier, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, INSERM U1037, Cancer Research Center of Toulouse and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, and can be accessed at: View Source
The paper featured preclinical studies of the Myb34.5 oncolytic virus. The authors found that cellular transcription factor B-myb was present in experimental pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and tumours, and was over expressed in patients’ tumours, as compared to normal adjacent pancreas. Myb34.5 replicated to high level in human PDAC cell lines and not in adjacent normal tissues, and was associated with cell death by apoptosis. In experimental models of PDAC, mice receiving intratumoral Myb34.5 injections appeared healthy and tumour progression was inhibited, with evidences of tumour necrosis, haemorrhage, viral replication and cancer cell death by apoptosis. Combining standard-of-care chemotherapy with Myb34.5 successfully led to a very impressive antitumoral effect that is rarely achieved in this experimental model, and resulted in a greater reduction in tumour growth than chemotherapy alone.
"The publication of data from our lead compound, Myb34.5, in this respected peer-reviewed journal emphasizes the potential importance of Karcinolys’ oncolytic virus may have in oncology," said Jean-Luc Béjot, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Karcinolys. "As we plan to move Myb34.5 through the clinic in 2017, we will continue to share our findings with the medical community through peer-reviewed publications, increasing the exposure of our drug candidate and expanding partnering opportunities."
About Myb34.5
Myb34.5 is a replication-conditional oncolytic virus derived from herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) through targeted genetic engineering. The key mutation is the insertion of cellular transcription factor b-myb gene as a promoter gene sequence controlling and retargeting the expression of HSV-1 virulence gene gamma34.5 (?34.5). Replication of Myb34.5 in infected cells is conditioned by the expression of b-myb, which has been found to be over-expressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells. Myb34.5 selectively replicates in cancer cells, resulting in infected cancer cell death, while sparing normal surrounding tissue cells. Karcinolys in-licensed Myb34.5 from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH, Harvard University, Boston, Ma., USA) in 2007. Myb34.5 was granted orphan drug designation by the FDA on December 23, 2014.