Hopes And Prayers Of Millions Around The World May Soon Be Answered By Theraputic Drug

“It’s one of those ‘smart people making observations about things they didn’t expect’ kinds of stories.” Brad Thompson, CEO

The science that would eventually become the basis for Oncolytics emerged from the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary in the mid 1990’s. At that time, Dr. Patrick Lee, along with two research assistants Matt Coffey and Jim Strong, were doing basic research on the human reovirus. They observed that this virus grows only in certain types of cell lines, specifically cancerous cells with certain metabolic defects. This was a pivotal observation and the team realized that they were working with an agent that could potentially be a therapeutic drug for cancer. They began testing the virus on animal models with the results providing confirmation of their hunch, so they decided to take steps toward founding a company to develop a therapeutic drug and Oncolytics was born.

There is no Middle Ground Once You Reach Phase III

Reovirus, an acronym for Respiratory Enteric Orphan virus, is commonly found in the respiratory and bowel systems of human beings and occurs naturally in sewage and water supplies. It has been found to be a benign virus that does not cause symptoms of illness in humans. The profile of reovirus as harmless to normal cells is an important element of Oncolytic’s proprietary formulation of reovirus, called Reolysin. Reolysin has been demonstrated to replicate and kill cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells intact. The reovirus enters cancerous cells with an activated Ras pathway, which lack the cellular protein that triggers an anti-viral response, then replicate and kill the cell.

When cell death occurs, progeny virus particles are released and infect surrounding cancer cells. This process repeats itself until no cancer cells are left. An activated Ras pathway occurs in approximately two-thirds of all tumours. Normal cells do not contain an active Ras pathway and are able to produce anti-viral defences and prevent infection.

Oncolytics has run human clinical trials using Reolysin alone and in association with radiation and chemotherapy. The company is currently heading into the final stages before Reolysin can be sold. Over fifteen years of research will culminate with the drug completing Phase III clinical trials in the next two years or so. The results of these trials will either see Reolysin approved and taking off as a cutting-edge therapeutic drug for cancer or failing and destroying Oncoytics as a company: there will be no middle ground. Oncolytics is truly a company on the brink.

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