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Oncolytics Biotech announced today that following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, the Company is initiating a U.S. Phase 2 clinical trial using intravenous administration of REOLYSIN(R) in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced head and neck cancers
CALGARY, AB, CANADA | June 20, 2008 | Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (“Oncolytics”) (TSX:ONC, NASDAQ:ONCY) announced today that following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, the Company is initiating a U.S. Phase 2 clinical trial using intravenous administration of REOLYSIN(R) in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced head and neck cancers. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Monica Mita of the Cancer Therapy and Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas (CTRC at UTHSCSA).
“REOLYSIN(R) is one of the more exciting targeted agents under development in oncology,” said Dr. Frank Giles, Director of the Institute for Drug Development. “Our investigators within the CTRC at UTHSCSA are very excited to begin studying potential synergy with standard cytotoxic agents and are eager to expand our studies into other tumor types and utilizing other chemotherapy partner regimens.”
This trial is a 14-patient, single arm, open-label, dose-targeted, non-randomized trial of REOLYSIN(R) given intravenously in combination with a standard dosage of paclitaxel and carboplatin.
Eligible patients include those with advanced or metastatic head and neck cancers that are refractory to standard therapy or for which no curative standard therapy exists. The primary objective of the Phase 2 trial is to measure tumour responses and duration of response, and to describe any evidence of antitumour activity. The secondary objective is to determine the safety and tolerability of REOLYSIN(R) when administered in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin to patients with advanced or metastatic head and neck cancers.
About Oncolytics Biotech Inc.
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 1/2 and Phase 2 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
The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is among the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug trials program in the world, and participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit our Web site at www.ctrc.uthscsa.edu.
SOURCE: Oncolytics Biotech Inc. |
