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Replies to post #41413 on MultiCell Technologies Inc (MCET)
07/20/16 10:21 AM
Oxis Biotech Signs Exclusive License Agreement With University Of Minnesota For Novel NK Cell TriKE Targeted Immunotherapy Platform Technology
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 25, 2016 / Oxis International Inc. (OTCQB: OXIS and Euronext Paris OXI.PA) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Oxis Biotech Inc., has entered into an agreement with the University of Minnesota to develop and commercialize cancer therapies using Trispecific Killer Engager (TriKE) technology developed by researchers at the university to target NK cells to cancer.
Anthony J. Cataldo, Chief Executive Officer of Oxis, said the new agreement provides the company with a significant asset. He said TriKE technology is important because it's highly effective at killing cancer cells with minimal side effects in pre-clinical models.
TriKE technology has several benefits compared to CAR-T therapy, which is known to be expensive and has been shown to carry significant side effects. Both Kite Pharma (Nasdaq:KITE) and Juno Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:JUNO) have gained significant attention for their CAR-T efforts.
"The bispecific antibody platform is well known for its ability to kill cancer cells via antibody dependent cell-mediated toxicity (ADCC). However, current successes in immunotherapy indicate that enhanced killing will not be enough," said Mr. Cataldo. "We believe the TriKE platform from University of Minnesota has found a way to expand the immune cell population within the patient, but not at the expense of creating a toxic environment."
Jeffrey Miller, M.D., a professor of medicine and deputy director of the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota said, "The TriKE platform we have licensed to Oxis is designed to address the issue of making NK cells antigen specific by modifying a bispecific antibody platform and adding a third signal by inserting a modified IL-15 cross linker. IL-15 is known as a chief activator of NK cells that can enhance an anti-cancer immune response. This new trispecific platform is unique because it simultaneously delivers a priming, expansion, killing, and activating signal directly to the immune cell as it is in contact with the cancer cell. We are now working with Oxis to go forward with FDA approved clinical trials to demonstrate TriKE safety and efficacy. Unlike standard anti-cancer antibodies, we believe that TriKE can mediate specificity and deliver an immune expansion signal locally (instead of systemically) which has the potential to diminish toxicity."
Daniel A. Vallera, Ph.D., a researcher and professor at the University of Minnesota said, "We are very excited to advance the TriKE technology in collaboration with Oxis."
The medical journal Science Translational Medicine recently highlighted TriKE research by the University of Minnesota's Vallera and Miller. Science Translational Medicine designated the research as an "Editors' Choice," and said "TriKEs were superior in restoring potent antigen-specific NK cell responses against AML targets and mediated robust and specific NK cell proliferation" (compared to bispecific killer engagers without the modified IL-15 linker).
ABOUT OXIS INTERNATIONAL, INC. - Oxis International, Inc., through a wholly owned subsidiary, Oxis Biotech, Inc., develops innovative drugs focused on the treatment of cancer and other unmet medical needs. Oxis' lead drug candidate, OXS-1550 (DT2219ARL) is a novel bispecific scFv recombinant fusion protein-drug conjugate composed of the variable regions of the heavy and light chains of anti-CD19 and anti-CD22 antibodies and a modified form of diphtheria toxin as its cytotoxic drug payload. OXS-1550 simultaneously targets cancer cells expressing the CD19 receptor or CD22 receptor or both receptors. When OXS-1550 binds to cancer cells, the cancer cells internalize the drug and are killed due to the action of drug's cytotoxic payload. OXS-1550 has demonstrated success in early human clinical trials in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma or leukemia. OXS-4235 is a small molecule therapeutic candidate targeting the treatment of multiple myeloma and associated osteolytic lesions. In in vitro and in vivo models of multiple myeloma and osteoporosis, OXS-4235 demonstrated the ability to kill multiple myeloma cells, and decrease osteolytic lesions in bone. OXIS' lead drug candidate, OXS-2175, is a small molecule therapeutic candidate targeting the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In in vitro and in vivo models of TNBC, OXS-2175 demonstrated the ability to inhibit metastasis.
Company website: www.oxis.com
Oxis International Comments On New York Times Article About Cancer Immunotherapy
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2016 / Oxis International Inc. (OTCQB: OXIS and Euronext Paris OXI.PA), a company that has made significant strides in harnessing the immune system to fight cancer, today commented on a New York Times article that examined cancer immunotherapy.
Anthony J. Cataldo, Chief Executive Officer of Oxis, said that, "while the article brought national attention to advances in the fight against cancer, it failed to address the latest scientific progress in the effort to empower the body's own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells."
In July, Oxis announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Oxis Biotech Inc., has agreed to a major partnership with the University of Minnesota to develop and commercialize cancer therapies using TriKe technology developed by researchers at the university.
TriKE technology has several benefits compared to CAR-T therapy, which is very expensive and has been shown to carry significant side effects. Both Kite Pharma (NASDAQ: KITE) and Juno Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNO) have gained significant attention for their CAR-T efforts.
The Times' article, which carried the headline, "Harnessing the Immune System to Fight Cancer," examined the changing landscape in the way doctors treat cancer.
"They talk very highly about immunotherapy; but this is all very dated information," Cataldo said. "Oxis's Targeted Immunotherapy OXS-1550, OXS-1650 and OXS-3550 are so much further ahead and the target modality makes it truly disruptive and much more specific."
"The difference is non targeted therapies hope to kill specific cancers getting to a general area; but also killing healthy cells indiscriminately. Off the shelf targeted therapies on which Oxis is focused on involves leveraging the immune system to target and destroy specific cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. These are far more accurate, less invasive on the patient, less costly and much more effective."
Researchers at the University of Minnesota are currently treating patients in an FDA Phase 1/Phase 2 trial of OXS-1550. Oxis recently announced that six new patients had been added to the trial, bringing to 32 the number of patients participating.
All the new patients are given an approved increased dosage of OXS-1550. It was the increased dosage that was credited with the complete remission of patient Cynthia Cattell.
Ms. Cattell said all other treatments for her aggressive B-cell lymphoma had failed – until she was treated with OXS-1550.
She was the first patient to receive four infusions of the drug over an eight-day span in the Phase 1 clinical trial. One month later, a doctor overseeing the clinical trial found a 75 percent reduction in the size of Cattell's tumor. She has now been cancer-free for almost two years.
The medical journal Science Translational Medicine recently highlighted TriKe research by the University of Minnesota's cancer center.
Science Translational Medicine designated the research as an "Editors' Choice," and said, "TriKEs were superior in restoring potent antigen-specific NK cell responses against AML targets and mediated robust and specific NK cell proliferation."
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