Mayo study shows potential of Oncolytics' Reolysin

Canadian cancer therapeutics specialists Oncolytics Biotech says that data from a study examining Reolysin, its proprietary formulation of the human reovirus, in combination with the immune modulator cyclophosphamide-are encouraging. The assessment, which was conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Minnesota, USA, showed that combining the two agents increased reovirus replication in rodent models.

Reolysin, Oncolytics' lead product candidate, is being developed as a treatment for various types of cancer, having previously demonstrated the ability to induce the death of harvested tumor cell lines. Specifically, the virus has been shown to replicate in tumor cells in which a deficient version of the Ras biochemical pathway, thought to play a role in up to 60% of human cancers, is active. In contrast, healthy cells, in which Ras functions correctly, are able to produce the protein PKR, which prevents viral replication.

Combination boosts replication rate