Jennerex Champions Oncolytic Viruses Versus Cancers

Jennerex is the leading company championing the use of oncolytic viruses in the treatment of cancer.  Based on its early pre-clinical successes - it's been able to raise $45 M in funding from foreign companies Green Cross Korea, China's Lee Pharmaceuticals, and France's Transgene. See Xconomy.

This week Transgene announced a new $116 M deal with Jennerex to help fund its latest phase III trial - targetting solid tumors from liver and colorectal cancers. Jennerex appears to have improved the ability to delivery the therapeutic virus, JX-594, to the tumors via intravenuous injection instead of direct injection to solid tumors.  This allows the treatment to also attack metastatic cancers and suppresses relapse.

Jennerex's next hurdle is to show it can improve cancer patient's survival time.  The next studies with Transgene should provide that data and will allow the firm to seek FDA approval for its treatment if successful. "When this hits" says David Kim, CEO, "It will be bigger than monoclonal antibodies"

 

Posted by Bruce Lehr September 9th 2010.

Comments

[bigredbruce]

More on JennerX clinical results from Medical News Today (Sept 14th)
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/200860.php

[Angeldog]

Biovex is intratumoral delivery not intravenus - big disadvantage - Melanoma and H&N cancers. Jennerex is imo behind Oncolytics. Oncolytics has treated many, many more patients intravenously than Jennerex. I believe the ratio is app. 400 to 100. Oncolytics has shown clinical benefit in H&N, multiple types of sarcomas, non small cell lung cancer, squamous cell lung cancer, gynecological cancers ovarian, falopian etc, colorectal cancers, liver and lung and kidney metasticies, melanoma and pancreatic cancers. And Oncolytics has the trials for all mentioned above either completed, on going or soon to start. Oncolytics's Reolysin will be used as a co-therapy to existing standard of care therapies and clinical respons rate accross the board has been shown in just about all co-therapy trials to have a 65 to 75% clinical response rate - much better than standard of care in all cases - and with life extension being proven out further each day. See the oncy trials on clinical trials.gov website - type in reolysin in the search box. Note there are at least two or three new startup trials not listed there yet. The National Cancer Institute, the Cancer and Research center of San Antonio and St. James\Marsden in Great Britain have all requested from Oncolytics and instituted additional Reolysin trials on their own after seeing the results of earlier trials. All Oncolytics does is supply the Reolysin drug for free - i.e. - these trials are at no cost to Oncolytics. Reolysin is the real deal, it works and extends life meaningfully. Probably 2.5 to 3 years till approval but much sooner for stock runup. The head of Jennerex predicts that viral oncolytics will surpass monoclonal antibodies in importance and revenue growth. A new paradigm is about to take place in cancer treatments and Oncolytics, Jennerex and even Biovex will lead the pack - but only Oncolytics is a publicly traded company - Oncy on nasdaq and Onc on the Toronto exchange. To all who don't know what viral cancer treatment means --> only cancer cells are attacked and destroyed, healthy cells are not affected --> little or no side effects of viral treatment --> "Hopless" treatment resistant patients can be helped --> great chance of meaningful life extension. Big change coming n cancer therapies!

[bigredbruce]

Matt - if you follow the Xconomy link, you will see that article also talks about BioVex and Oncolytics as being two other main players trying to exploit oncolytics viruses as cancer therapies. BioVex is furthest along in the clinical pipeline, thought Oncolytics also has a candidate.

[matt caple]

How does Jennerex compare to Oncolytics?

[bigredbruce]

More on this from thepharmaletter
http://www.thepharmaletter.com/file/98194/jennerex-licenses-lead-cancer-compound-to-transgene-in-over-116-million-deal.html