CALGARY, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced that interim results of a Phase II study of intravenous REOLYSIN(R) in patients with sarcomas metastatic to the lung were presented yesterday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. The presentation, entitled “A Phase II Study of Intravenous REOLYSIN (Wild-type Reovirus) in the Treatment of Patients with Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas Metastatic to the Lung” was delivered by Dr. Monica Mita, the study principal investigator and her team at the Institute of Drug Development (IDD), the Cancer Therapy and Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center, (UTHSC), San Antonio, Texas.
The interim results demonstrate that the treatment has been well tolerated to date, with 8 of 16 evaluable patients experiencing stable disease for periods ranging from two to more than ten, 28-day cycles. As previously announced by Oncolytics, the third patient treated in the study was demonstrated to have stable disease by RECIST criteria for more than six months as measured by CT scan. A PET scan taken at the same time showed that any residual mass was metabolically inert.
“These very encouraging data have increased our commitment to the thorough investigation of this exciting, unique, truly targeted agent,” said Dr Francis Giles, Director of the IDD at UTHSC.
“We feel privileged to participate in this study and to be able to offer this therapeutic option to our patients,” said Dr. Mita. “Patients have tolerated the treatment well and seem to have disease control up to several months, which is encouraging for patients with advanced refractory sarcoma.”
Oncolytics is a Calgary-based biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics. Oncolytics’ clinical program includes a variety of Phase I/II and Phase II human trials using REOLYSIN(R), its proprietary formulation of the human reovirus, alone and in combination with radiation or chemotherapy. For further information about Oncolytics, please visit www.oncolyticsbiotech.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements, including the implication of the materials presented at the ASCO meeting with respect to REOLYSIN(R), the Company’s expectations related to the results of trials investigating delivery of REOLYSIN(R), and the Company’s belief as to the potential of REOLYSIN(R) as a cancer therapeutic, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the availability of funds and resources to pursue research and development projects, the efficacy of REOLYSIN(R) as a cancer treatment, the success and timely completion of clinical studies and trials, the Company’s ability to successfully commercialize REOLYSIN(R), uncertainties related to the research and development of pharmaceuticals, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes to the economic environment. Investors should consult the Company’s quarterly and annual filings with the Canadian and U.S. securities commissions for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Oncolytics Biotech Inc., Cathy Ward, 210, 1167 Kensington Cr NW,
Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1X7, Tel: (403) 670-7377, Fax: (403) 283-0858,
cathy.ward@oncolytics.ca; The Equicom Group, Nick Hurst, 325, 300 5th Ave.
SW, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 3C4, Tel: (403) 538-4845, Fax: (403) 237-6916,
nhurst@equicomgroup.com; The Investor Relations Group, Erika Moran, 11
Stone St, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10004, Tel: (212) 825-3210, Fax: (212)
825-3229, emoran@investorrelationsgroup.com
