OncoMyx Presents New Data at SITC 2021 Demonstrating the Potential of a Multi-Armed Myxoma Virus as a Novel Oncolytic Immunotherapy for Solid Tumors and Heme Malignancies

November 12, 2021 |

4 min read

OncoMyx Therapeutics, a privately-held oncolytic immunotherapy company, announced the presentation of new preclinical data at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s 36th Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs being held November 10-14, 2021, both virtually and in Washington, D.C.

Nov. 12, 2021 12:00 UTC

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OncoMyx Therapeutics, a privately-held oncolytic immunotherapy company, today announced the presentation of new preclinical data at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 36th Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2021) being held November 10-14, 2021, both virtually and in Washington, D.C. The data demonstrate the potential of a multi-armed myxoma virotherapy for the treatment of solid tumors and heme malignancies. In addition to direct oncolytic effects on cancer cells, OncoMyx’s multi-armed myxoma platform show additional anti-tumor activity through immune activation and tumor microenvironment modulation. Furthermore, OncoMyx has previously established in a preclinical model of cancer that myxoma virus has anti-tumor efficacy following intravenous (IV) or intratumoral (IT) dosing (data presented at AACR 2021).

“Myxoma is a unique virus in that it naturally infects and kills cancer cells, but it is a nonhuman pathogen, so there’s no preexisting immunity, which allows for systemic dosing, a longer dosing window, and multi-dosing,” said Steve Potts, Ph.D., MBA, cofounder and CEO of OncoMyx. “Furthermore, the large size of the myxoma genome allows for the insertion of multiple genes to arm the virus with immune modulators that can orchestrate the cancer-immunity cycle for optimal viral-mediated cancer-killing activity. These data show the unmatched potential of our myxoma platform to be effective across a broad range of cancers, from hematological malignancies to solid tumors. The data, along with previously published studies, support the advancement of these therapies into clinical development as a monotherapy and in combination with many cancer therapeutics and immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapies.”

Immune modulation is a key component of the anti-tumor activity of multi-armed myxoma virus in vivo. The data presented show myxoma multi-armed with decorin and IL-12 infects and kills primary human multiple myeloma cells in vitro and demonstrates efficacy in a mouse model of multiple myeloma. Additional data presented show multi-armed myxoma virus demonstrates efficacy in syngeneic and xenograft tumor models following IT or IV delivery and combinatorial efficacy with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Titles of the presentations are as follows:

(742) Multi-armed myxoma virus induces potent anti-tumor responses in vitro and in vivo
(744) Multi-armed myxoma virus has therapeutic potential for treatment of multiple myeloma

Onsite posters will be presented in the Poster Hall at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The posters will be available for onsite viewing November 12-14 from 7am to 5pm EST. Even numbered posters will be presented Saturday, November 13. ePosters will be on display on the SITC 2021 virtual meeting platform from 7am EST on Friday, November 12 until the virtual meeting platform is closed on January 9, 2022.

Posters for both presentations are available on OncoMyx’s website.

About Oncolytic Immunotherapy and Myxoma Virus

Oncolytic viruses (OV) selectively replicate in and lyse tumor cells and provide stimulation to the immune system, representing a promising therapeutic option in development to treat cancers that do not respond well to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Myxoma virus (MYXV) is a member of the Pox family of double stranded DNA viruses. The natural host of MYXV is a subset of rabbits and hares, but MYXV is able to infect cancer cell lines of humans and other species. The genome of MYXV is relatively large and is amenable to engineering for expression of transgenic proteins, making it an excellent oncolytic virus for introduction of immunomodulatory proteins.

About OncoMyx Therapeutics

OncoMyx Therapeutics is advancing oncolytic immunotherapies with the goal of achieving the greatest therapeutic benefit for more cancer patients. Successful immuno-oncology cancer treatment generally requires combination therapy, and oncolytic viruses have the potential to be a safe and effective complement to immunotherapies. OncoMyx has assembled the top immuno-oncology team to develop oncolytic immunotherapies based on the myxoma virus platform to orchestrate an immune response with the goal of better treating a wide range of cancers. The company’s myxoma virus platform is poised to be a best-in-class oncolytic virus approach and was developed based on breakthrough research from Dr. Grant McFadden’s lab that was exclusively licensed from Arizona State University. For more information, please visit www.oncomyx.com and connect with the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.