Vium Awards Grant To OncoSynergy To Further Preclinical Research In Ovarian Cancer Model

$100K grant will fund study of OncoSynergy’s OS2966 using Vium’s Smart Housing™ Technology

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vium announced today the selection of OncoSynergy, a UCSF oncology therapeutics spinout, as the first recipient of its “Next Generation Disease Model Grant” of $100,000 worth of research services. The companies will collaborate on a study of OncoSynergy’s lead drug candidate OS2966 to facilitate development of an optimized and clinically relevant experimental model of malignant ascites (MA), a complication of metastatic ovarian cancer (OC) associated with poor prognosis. The study will be the first to collect in-depth quality of life (QOL) metrics using an established experimental model of MA.

“We believe the ability to continuously collect multimodal data noninvasively will be a game-changer for oncology studies, in which the current standard for decades has been binary”

OncoSynergy has already demonstrated efficacy of OS2966, its lead monoclonal antibody therapeutic candidate designated as an Orphan Drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in multiple models of OC, including alleviation of clinical signs of MA. The new study will therefore use Vium’s Smart Housing™ to increase the therapeutic window to more closely model disease progression in humans, thereby yielding more accurate measurement of disease metrics and improved tracking of QOL measures.

“We are pleased to collaborate with OncoSynergy and to fund this innovative study in a disease area with high unmet research and treatment needs,” said Vium Chief Scientific Officer David Hutto, Ph.D, DVM, DACVP. “It’s a great match for Vium, as it allows us to apply our fully automated, low-touch technology and novel digital metrics to continuously assess changes in ovarian cancer-related malignant ascites -- signs that would be difficult to evaluate using traditional methods.”

"We believe the ability to continuously collect multimodal data noninvasively will be a game-changer for oncology studies, in which the current standard for decades has been binary,” commented W. Shawn Carbonell, MD, Ph.D, co-founder and CEO of OncoSynergy. “We are excited to work with Vium to develop this novel and more humane approach to studying animal models of orphan malignancies such as ovarian cancer and glioblastoma, as these diseases are our main focus.”

About Vium, Inc.

Vium is the first company to create a living informatics platform for preclinical in vivo drug research. The Vium Digital Vivarium™ incorporating Vium Smart Housing™, Vium Cloud infrastructure, and online Research Suite software empower scientists to optimize advances in bioengineered research models in ways previously not possible. Vium is fully accredited by AAALAC International and received an unprecedented AAALAC commendation for upholding the “3 Rs,” the gold-standard framework for humane animal research. Customers run the spectrum of biotechnology, pharmaceutical and computational drug discovery companies, academia and novel therapeutic labs. Vium is backed by leading investors, including Lux Capital, Data Collective, Dolby Family Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, and Founders Fund.

Vium is headquartered in San Mateo, California. For more information, please visit www.vium.com.

About OncoSynergy

OncoSynergy is a UCSF oncology therapeutics spinout with primary operations in JLABS SSF located in South San Francisco, California. The company was founded in 2011 to address the complexity of cancer for more durable patient outcomes through the development of a new class of oncology therapeutics, called Resistance Mechanism Inhibitors (RMIs). RMIs uniquely inhibit multiple cancer hallmarks simultaneously. The lead RMI drug candidate, OS2966, is the first ever pan-CD29 therapeutic antibody in development, and is on track for Phase I clinical trials in 2018. To learn more visit www.oncosynergy.com.