News from external sources

Lytix Biopharma signs licensing agreement

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Our member Lytix Biopharma has entered into a milestone agreement with Verrica Pharmaceuticals to license the company’s lead drug candidate against skin cancer.

The Norwegian start-up Lytix Biopharma from Tromsø has reached a new milestone. The company has licensed its lead drug candidate LTX-315 against skin cancer to the dermatology therapeutics company Verrica Pharmaceuticals. Verrica Pharmaceuticals will develop and commercialize LTX-315 for dermatologic oncology indications.

The drug is a first-in-class oncolytic peptide-based immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that mobilises the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. Peptides are short chains of between two and fifty amino acids that can have many different sources or functions. Peptides hold great potential for both cancer therapy and diagnostics, through the development of anticancer peptides, use of peptides for drug delivery, and cancer targeting.

Clinical studies have shown that the drug LTX-315 from Lytix Biopharma has the ability to kill human cancer cells and induce a specific anti-cancer immune response when injected locally into tumours.

“We are pleased to enter into this collaboration with Verrica, which has significant expertise within the field of dermatology” said Øystein Rekdal, CEO of Lytix Biopharma. “Our lead drug candidate, LTX-315, has shown very promising efficacy and safety signals in cancer patients during Phase I/II studies and we are excited that this partnership with Verrica will expand the applications for LTX-315”

The agreement entitles Lytix Biopharma to up-front payment, contingent regulatory milestones based on achievement of specified development goals, and sales milestones, with aggregate payments of more than $110M, as well as tiered royalty payments in the double-digit teens once Verrica successfully commercializes LTX-315 in dermatologic oncology indications.

Lytix Biopharma and Oslo Cancer Cluster

Lytix Biopharma has been a part of the innovation environment in Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park since the building opened in 2015, utilising both offices and laboratory for research and development.

Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator has offered the company its services in both private and shared laboratory spaces. In addition, Lytix Biopharma has been active in the animal laboratories at The Norwegian Radium Hospital (a part of Oslo University Hospital), which is located right next to the Incubator.

The researchers in Lytix Biopharma have gained their PhDs in the Incubator, in collaboration with its innovation environment. One of the company’s former researchers is now the laboratory manager in the Incubator.

“This shows how the innovation environments enrich one another in a positive sense, by sharing access to different services and thanks to the power of our geographic location,” said Bjørn Klem, general manager of Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator.

Lytix Biopharma recently moved out of the Incubator after finishing their main project earlier this year and remains a member of Oslo Cancer Cluster.

Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator is financed by SIVA, the Norwegian national infrastructure for innovation, consisting of incubators, business gardens, catapult centres, innovation enterprises, innovation centres and industrial real estate.

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Image of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park

New member: Hemispherian

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In this article series, we will introduce the new members of our oncology cluster.

Our newest member Hemispherian is developing a better treatment option for patients with aggressive brain cancer.

Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begins within the brain. Current treatment options are limited to surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the median overall survival after diagnosis is only 15 months and is highly dependent on the success of the surgery.

A Norwegian company called Hemispherian is advancing a new method to treat glioblastoma multiforme. The molecules the company is developing are called GLIX1 and GLIX5. They target a mechanism that is unique to cancer cells and does not affect normal healthy cells. The molecules are highly toxic to cancer cells and have minimal side effects.

We talked to Adam Robertson, Chief Scientific Officer in Hemispherian, to find out more about the company and the research.

How is Hemispherian involved in health and cancer?

“We are advancing first-in-class therapeutics for the indication with the greatest unmet need in oncology — glioblastoma multiforme. Patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme have dismal outcomes. Overall survival is measured in months with quality of life deteriorating rapidly. It is Hemispherian’s mission to provide superior treatment options.” Adam Robertson, Chief Scientific Officer, Hemispherian.

Why did Hemispherian become a member of Oslo Cancer Cluster?

“As a company focusing on developing cancer treatments Oslo Cancer Cluster is a natural fit for us. We are interested in Oslo Cancer Cluster’s extensive experience in the field and hope to benefit from advice and to make valuable contacts through Oslo Cancer Cluster’s network.” Adam Robertson, Chief Scientific Officer, Hemispherian.

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Targovax releases 12-month clinical data

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Our member Targovax has released 12-month data from the company’s clinical study of the oncolytic virus ONCOS-102 in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Targovax is a member of Oslo Cancer Cluster that develops oncolytic viruses to treat solid cancer tumours. The company’s lead product is called ONCOS-102 and has been engineered to selectively infect cancer cells and activate the immune system to fight cancer.

An oncolytic virus is a virus that preferentially infects and kills cancer cells.

The oncolytic virus ONCOS-102 is currently being tested in a phase I/II clinical trial with the aim to establish its safety and efficacy. ONCOS-102 is tested in combination with the standard-of-care chemotherapy on patients with mesothelioma.

The company released 12-month data from the clinical trial this week, which powerfully demonstrate a broad immune activation linked to clinical benefit.

Watch the presentation with Magnus Jäderberg, Chief Medical Officer at Targovax:

What is mesothelioma?

Malignant mesothelioma is a type of cancer that occurs in the thin layer of tissue that covers the majority of your internal organs (mesothelium). Mesothelioma is an aggressive and deadly form of cancer.

Mesothelioma is a difficult cancer disease to diagnose and treat. Only 10% of all patients are eligible for surgery. Many of the remaining patients receive chemotherapy. Radiotherapy may be used in some cases for palliative reasons. There have been no new break-through treatments with any significant impact during the last 15 years.

Immunotherapy has started to make an inroad on the disease. There are a couple of checkpoint inhibitor trials for patients with second-line disease. For patients with first-line disease, there are currently no immunotherapy options.

Checkpoint inhibitor therapy is a form of cancer immunotherapy, a type of therapy that uses substances to stimulate or suppress the immune system to help the body fight cancer.

The 12-month data

Targovax has presented data from the company’s phase I/II trial focusing on safety on combining ONCOS-102 with chemotherapy. They have looked at both first-line and second-line patients being treated with standard-of-care chemotherapy in combination with ONCOS-12.

The study includes a control group of 11 patients who have received chemotherapy only and an experimental group of 14 patients who received the combination of chemotherapy and ONCOS-102.

The 12-month results show that ONCOS-102 drives broad and powerful immune activation across key parameters, including innate immune responses, adaptive immune responses and remodelling of the tumour microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment has profound impacts on cancer progression and remodelling of the tumour microenvironment has emerged as a strategy to facilitate cancer therapy.

The analysed genes show that there is a clear difference in ONCOS-102-induced immune activation compared to chemotherapy only. The genes also show there is a clear association between the powerful immune activation and improved clinical outcome.

The data shows that ONCOS-102 drives the infiltration of CD8+ T cells into the tumour, which is associated with better outcomes.

Targovax now plans to continue the clinical study for first-line patients. The company sees a strong rationale for combining ONCOS-102 with checkpoint inhibitor and standard-of-care chemotherapy.

On Tuesday, Targovax also revealed they will collaborate with our member pharmaceutical company MSD (known as Merck in the US) to evaluate the immunotherapy drug Keytruda in combination with ONCOS-102.

Find out more …

IKKE BRUK! Erna Solberg visits PCI BiotechNTB (Vi har ikke lisens, sletter ikke bildet fordi vi skal kjøpe det, mars 2022)

Grants awarded for PDT/PCI research

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Radforsk has granted seven research projects a total amount of MNOK 1,25 to further develop exciting research projects within photodynamic treatment and photochemical internalization.

Radforsk is an evergreen investor focusing on companies that develop cancer treatments.

“Radforsk has ploughed NOK 200 million of its profit back into cancer research at Oslo University Hospital. Of these, NOK 25 million, have gone to research in PDT/PCI. This year we grant seven projects a total of NOK 1,25 million,” says Jónas Einarsson, CEO of Radforsk.

Radforsk had received a total of seven applications by the deadline on 1 March. All projects were allocated funding.

The applications have been assessed by external experts.

The researchers who have received funding for PDT/PCI research in 2020 are:

  • Anette Weyergang is granted NOK 300 000 to the project: “Photochemical Internalization: Development of a novel tumor-specific protein toxin to defeat aggressive and resistant cancers”
  • Beáta Grallert is granted NOK 100 000 for the project: “Cancer-specific bioluminescence-PDT”
  • Judith Jing Wen Wong is granted NOK 100 000 to the project “Light-enhanced targeting of immunosuppressive tumor cells”
  • Kirsten Sandvig and Tore Geir Iversen are granted NOK 200.000 to the project “Drug-loaded Photosensitizer-Chitoscan Nanoparticles for cominatorial Chemo- and Photodynamic cancer therapy”
  • Mouldy Sioud is granted NOK 200.00 to the project “Antibody- and peptide-targeted photodynamic therapy to kill cancer cells”
  • Qian Peng and Henry Hirschberg are granted NOK 50 500 to the project “Improved therapy of brain tumors by PDT induced anti-tumor immune responses”
  • Qian Peng is granted 300 000 to the project “Photopheresis of patients with Crohn’s disease using 5-aminolevulinic acid”

Read about the projects that were funded in 2019 here.

FACTS

PDT/PCI

Cancer research in the field of photodynamic therapy and photochemical internalisation studies the use of light in direct cancer treatment in combination with drugs, or to deliver drugs that can treat cancer to cells or organs.

Radforsk

Since its formation in 1986, Radforsk has generated NOK 600 million in fund assets and channelled NOK 200 million to cancer research, based on a loan of NOK 1 million in equity back in 1986.

During this period, NOK 200 million have found its way back to the researchers whose ideas Radforsk has helped to commercialise.

NOK 25 million have gone to research in photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photochemical internalisation (PCI). In total, NOK 40 million will be awarded to this research.