OncoSec Announces Publication In Nature Gene Therapy Demonstrating Efficacy Of IL-12 Intratumoral Gene Electrotransfer
Research Spotlights OncoSec's Next Generation Electroporation (EP) Platform
SAN DIEGO, March 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OncoSec Medical Incorporated (OncoSec) (NASDAQ:ONCS), a company developing intratumoral cancer immunotherapies, today announced that its manuscript, "Improving therapeutic efficacy of IL-12 intratumoral gene electrotransfer," has been published in Nature Gene Therapy. The research, led by a team of OncoSec scientists, evolves the company's current clinical EP platform to improve the therapeutic efficacy of IL-12 intratumoral gene electrotransfer through novel plasmid design and modified parameters.
"In cancer therapy, transforming an immunologically 'cold' tumor to 'hot' offers the potential to treat a number of tumors and cancer indications that are otherwise unfavorable to current standards of care," said Dr. Christopher Twitty, Chief Scientific Officer of OncoSec. "Our ImmunoPulse® technology employs EP to enable the delivery of DNA-based IL-12 directly into tumor cells, which reshapes the tumor microenvironment leading to the generation of systemic, tumor antigen-specific T cells. The research published in Nature Gene Therapy highlights this capability and the potential for improving the efficacy and anti-tumor response by optimizing key components of the technology platform."
Researchers sought to improve the efficacy and systemic anti-tumor response of OncoSec's clinical IT-pIL12-EP platform by modifying in vivo electroporation conditions and enhancing plasmid-derived IL-12p70 expression. The improved IL-12 therapeutic platform was evaluated in vitro and in vivo using murine syngeneic tumor models. Findings show that modifications to the electroporation parameters, including lowering the electric field strength (low voltage) combined with a longer pulse length, significantly increase the transfection efficiency of intratumoral electroporation.
"With both preclinical models and clinical trials, EP has been used to successfully deliver therapeutic genes via non-viral vectors (gene electrotransfer) or to increase uptake of chemotherapeutic drugs into tumor cells (electrochemotherapy)," said Dr. David Canton, senior author and Head of Research & Development at OncoSec. "The newly developed IT-pIL12-P2A-EP platform marks a significant improvement of our electroporation-based cancer immunotherapy."
To read the full article, please visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41434-018-0006-y.
About OncoSec Medical Incorporated
OncoSec is a biotechnology company developing DNA-based intratumoral immunotherapies with an investigational technology, ImmunoPulse®, for the treatment of cancer. ImmunoPulse is designed to enhance the local delivery and uptake of DNA-based immune-targeting agents, such as plasmid encoded IL-12 (tavokinogene telseplasmid or "tavo"). In Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, ImmunoPulse® IL-12 has demonstrated a favorable safety profile, evidence of anti-tumor activity in the treatment of various solid tumors, and the potential to reach beyond the site of local treatment to initiate a systemic immune response. OncoSec's lead program, ImmunoPulse IL-12, is currently in clinical development for metastatic melanoma and triple-negative breast cancer. The program's current focus is on the significant unmet medical need in patients with melanoma who are refractory or have relapsed on anti-PD-1 therapies. In addition to tavo, the Company is also identifying and developing new immune-targeting agents for use with the ImmunoPulse platform. For more information, please visit www.oncosec.com.
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This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "can," "may," "will," "suggest," "look forward to," "potential," "understand," and similar references to future periods.
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