PENNINGTON, N.J. and
SAN DIEGO, March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OncoSec Medical
Incorporated (NASDAQ: ONCS) (the "Company" or "OncoSec"), a
late-stage biotechnology company focused on cytokine-based
intratumoral immunotherapies, today announced the publication of
research demonstrating the ability of its lead candidate TAVO™
(tavokinogene telseplasmid), a DNA-based interleukin-12 (IL-12), to
activate tumor antigen specific antitumor immunity in patients with
triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) in the peer-reviewed medical
journal Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American
Association for Cancer Research. The manuscript by Melinda L. Telli, M.D. et al. is titled,
"Intratumoral plasmid IL-12 expands CD8+ T cells and induces a
CXCR3 gene signature in triple-negative breast tumors that
sensitizes patients to anti-PD-1 therapy," and is available
online.
Key findings from the article include:
- TAVO treatment induced expression of a CXCR3 gene signature
(CXCR3-GS), which was associated with enhanced antigen
presentation, T cell infiltration and expansion, and PD-1/PD-L1
expression in mouse models.
- Assessment of pre- and post-treatment tissue from patients
confirmed enrichment of CXCR3-GS in tumors that exhibited an
enhancement of CD8+ T cell infiltration following treatment with
TAVO.
- One patient who was previously unresponsive to anti-PD-L1
therapy exhibited an increased CXCR3-GS after TAVO treatment, and
subsequently demonstrated a significant clinical response after
receiving additional anti-PD-1 therapy.
- "TNBC is an aggressive disease with limited therapeutic
options, as only a subset of patients benefits from antibodies
targeting PD-1/PD-L1," said Dr. Telli, Associate Professor of
Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at Stanford University School of Medicine. "The
published results demonstrate TAVO's potential to positively impact
immunogenicity, providing mechanistic insights as well as a strong
rationale to combine with chemokines and checkpoint
inhibitors."
- Herbert Kim Lyerly, M.D., George
Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Immunology at Duke University and Director on OncoSec's Board of
Directors, added, "The published results add to the growing body of
evidence indicating TAVO's potential to activate the immune system
in patients with cancer who are refractory to available
treatments."
About TAVO™
OncoSec's gene therapy technology combines
TAVO (tavokinogene telseplasmid), a DNA plasmid-based
interleukin-12 (IL-12), with an intra-tumoral electroporation gene
delivery platform to achieve endogenous IL-12 production in the
tumor microenvironment that enables the immune system to target and
attack tumors throughout the body. TAVO has demonstrated a
local and systemic anti-tumor response in several clinical trials,
including the pivotal Phase 2b trial
KEYNOTE-695 for metastatic melanoma and the KEYNOTE-890 Phase 2
trial in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). TAVO™ has
received both Orphan Drug and Fast-Track Designation by the
U.S. Food & Drug Administration for the treatment of
metastatic melanoma.
About OncoSec Medical Incorporated
OncoSec Medical Incorporated (the "Company," "OncoSec," "we" or
"our") is a late-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 investigational product candidate –
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 along with an acceptable safety profile, warranting
further development. In addition to TAVO™, OncoSec is identifying
and developing new DNA-encoded therapeutic candidates and tumor
indications for use with its new Visceral Lesion Applicator (VLA),
to target deep visceral lesions, such as liver, lung or pancreatic
lesions. For more information, please
visit www.oncosec.com.
TAVO™ is a trademark of OncoSec Medical Incorporated.
Risk Factors and Forward-Looking Statements
This release, as well as other information provided from time to
time by the Company or its employees, may contain forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements provide the Company's current beliefs, expectations and
intentions regarding future events and involve risks, uncertainties
(some of which are beyond the Company's control) and assumptions.
For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor
for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward-looking
statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to
historical or current facts. These statements may include words
such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "should," "will" and "would"
and similar expressions (including the negative of these terms).
Although we believe that expectations reflected in the forward-
looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The
Company intends these forward-looking statements to speak only at
the time they are published on or as otherwise specified, and does
not undertake to update or revise these statements as more
information becomes available, except as required under federal
securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Securities
Exchange Commission ("SEC"). In particular, you should be aware
that the success and timing of our clinical trials, including
safety and efficacy of our product candidates, patient accrual,
unexpected or expected safety events, the impact of COVID-19 on the
supply of our candidates or the initiation or completion of
clinical trials and the usability of data generated from our trials
may differ and may not meet our estimated timelines. Please refer
to the risk factors and other cautionary statements provided in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
July 31, 2019 and subsequent periodic
and current reports filed with the SEC (each of which can be found
at the SEC's website www.sec.gov), as well as other factors
described from time to time in the Company's filings with the
SEC.
Company Contact
Brian Leuthner
Chief Operating Officer
investors@oncosec.com
Media Contact
Patrick Bursey
LifeSci Communications
+1-646-970-4688
pbursey@lifescicomms.com
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SOURCE OncoSec Medical Incorporated