Date: 2015-01-12
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: oncolytic virus programme
Company: MedImmune (USA - global biologics arm of AstraZeneca (UK) Omnis Pharmaceuticals (USA - MN)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: licensing
Action mechanism: immunotherapy product/oncolytic virus/gene therapy/oncolytic immunotherapy. Oncolytic viruses are designed to target tumour cells with the killing potency of viruses. Omnis’ lead investigational oncolytic virus programme is a genetically engineered strain of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). VSV is among a group of naturally occurring viruses that can be engineered to selectively infect tumour cells and destroy them without harming healthy cells. These oncolytic viruses represent a potentially powerful new tool in the fight against cancer and may be synergistic with various immunotherapies currently being developed by MedImmune.
Disease:
Details: * On January 12, 2015, AstraZeneca announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, has entered into a licensing agreement with Omnis Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses. This agreement will allow MedImmune to combine key agents from its investigational immunotherapy portfolio with Omnis’ lead investigational oncolytic virus programme, a genetically engineered strain of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). The programme is currently being studied in a Phase I clinical trial as a monotherapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and other cancers that have metastasised to the liver. Under the terms of the agreement, MedImmune has the license to develop and, if successful, to commercialise Omnis’s lead oncolytic virus programme. Clinical development of the virus will be accelerated with the objective of rapidly progressing to combination studies with MedImmune’s immunotherapy molecules.
Financial terms:
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