SAN DIEGO and PENNINGTON, N.J., Oct.
24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OncoSec Medical Incorporated
(OncoSec) (NASDAQ:ONCS), a company developing intratumoral cancer
immunotherapies, today announced the publication of a study in the
peer-reviewed journal, Nature Gene Therapy (an open access
article; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41434-018-0044-5),
demonstrating that the newly optimized intratumoral IL-12
immunotherapy platform (electroporation-mediated intratumoral IL-12
gene therapy) induces immunological changes in both locally-treated
and distant, untreated tumors. The publication provides new
mechanistic insights into this systemic anti-tumor immunity
including the observation that IL-12 primed effector T cells
diminished expression of PD-1, which is particularly relevant to
Oncosec's ongoing KEYNOTE-695 clinical study.
The paper, titled "Characterization of abscopal effects of
intratumoral electroporation-mediated IL-12 gene therapy," by
Mukhopadhyay et al., reported results from a pre-clinical
study of OncoSec's optimized plasmid IL-12 (TAVO) therapeutic
platform on both locally-treated and distant, untreated lesions,
with a particular emphasis on understanding "abscopal" effects in
distant non-electroporated tumors. Results from the study
indicated that intratumoral IL-12 treatment led to an induction of
IL-12-regulated genes, other cytokines and chemokines pathways, as
well as genes for enhanced antigen processing and presentation in
the treated tumor. These localized IL-12-mediated effects
then led to the generation of systemic anti-tumor immune responses,
including a surge of CD8+ T cells in the spleen and in
non-treated tumors and when coupled with PD-1 modulation, suggests
an orchestrated "armoring" of these effector T cells against T-cell
checkpoints when primed in the presence of IL-12 in
situ.
"Data from previously completed clinical and pre-clinical
studies of our TAVO platform in multiple cancer settings has
clearly demonstrated that our intratumoral electroporation-mediated
IL-12 gene therapy is safe and produces systemic anti-tumor effects
from a local delivery of this potent cytokine," said Christopher G. Twitty, PhD, Chief Scientific
Officer of OncoSec. "Based on these outcomes, OncoSec is
advancing an optimized version of TAVO that is designed to increase
transgene expression and efficacy. The study published in Gene
Therapy indicates that tumors treated directly with the
optimized TAVO therapy rapidly engage IL-12/IFN-g regulated
pathways, altering the tumor microenvironment's immunogenicity and
effectively creating an in situ vaccine that ultimately
drives an increase of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and
immune-specific gene expression in both treated and distant
untreated tumors, indicative of a de novo immune
response. These results confirm that OncoSec's TAVO platform
may represent a mechanism by which local intratumoral IL-12 gene
therapy can deliver a safe and effective abscopal response."
About OncoSec Immunotherapies
OncoSec is a
clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing
cytokine-based intratumoral immunotherapies to stimulate the body's
immune system to target and attack cancer. OncoSec's lead
immunotherapy platform – TAVO (tavokinogene telseplasmid) – enables
the intratumoral delivery of DNA-based interleukin-12 (IL-12), a
naturally occurring protein with immune-stimulating functions. The
technology, which employs electroporation, is designed to produce a
controlled, localized expression of IL-12 in the tumor
microenvironment, enabling the immune system to target and attack
tumors throughout the body. OncoSec has built a deep and diverse
clinical pipeline utilizing TAVO as a potential treatment for
multiple cancer indications either as a monotherapy or in
combination with leading checkpoint inhibitors; with the latter
potentially enabling OncoSec to address a great unmet medical need
in oncology: anti-PD-1 non-responders. Results from recently
completed clinical studies of TAVO have demonstrated a local immune
response, and subsequently, a systemic effect as either a
monotherapy or combination treatment approach. In addition to
TAVO, OncoSec is identifying and developing new DNA-encoded
therapeutic candidates and tumor indications for use with its
ImmunoPulse® platform. For more information, please
visit www.oncosec.com.
The information stated above was prepared by OncoSec Medical
Incorporated and reflects solely the opinion of OncoSec. Nothing in
this statement shall be construed to imply any support or
endorsement of OncoSec, or any of its products, by the Regents of
the University of California, its
officers, agents and employees.
CONTACT
Investor Relations:
Stern Investor Relations
Will O'Connor
Phone: (212) 362-1200
will@sternir.com
Media Relations:
David Schemelia / Jason Rando
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
Phone: 212-827-0020
dschemelia@tiberend.com
jrando@tiberend.com
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SOURCE OncoSec Medical Incorporated