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By Anthony Termini, Benzinga
According to Cancer Research UK, "Cancer survival has doubled in the last 40 years, but progress hasn’t been equal across all types of the disease." Their research shows that survival rates of some forms of brain tumors and pancreatic cancers have barely improved in that time. One company has made it its mission to change that.
TherivaTM Biologics Has A Novel Approach To Address Difficult-To-Treat Cancers
Theriva Biologics (AMEX: TOVX) is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, and its clinical research efforts span the Atlantic. Theriva is a leader in the development of oncolytic virus therapies – treating cancer with viruses that target tumors.
The company recently announced positive results from one of its several ongoing clinical trials. Theriva’s oncolytic viruses are designed to address a wide range of difficult-to-treat tumor types.
“Solid tumors are complex organ-like structures consisting of cancer cells, vasculature, and tumor matrix,” said Steven A. Shallcross, CEO of Theriva. He added that “this dense extracellular matrix, also known as stroma, hampers the intratumoral accessibility of chemotherapy, making them hard to treat.”
And these are the challenges that Theriva seeks to address in a number of clinical trials.
How Theriva Focuses Specific Oncolytic Viruses To Treat Various Cancers
Theriva says its viruses have the potential to treat a broad range of difficult-to-treat tumor types. Their leading candidate, VCN-01, is a stroma-degrading oncolytic virus. It is intended to break down the tumor’s protective barrier and improve tumor access by co-administered cancer therapies and the patient’s immune system. It may be combined with other types of cancer therapies to treat a number of tumor types.
Theriva has reported encouraging results from clinical trials in pancreatic cancer (PDAC), retinoblastoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Ongoing clinical trials conducted in collaboration with the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds in England and the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine are evaluating VCN-01 in other difficult to treat cancers..
Theriva’s additional next generation oncolytic viruses such as VCN-11, which incorporates the novel Albumin Shield technology, are in preclinical development in collaboration with researchers from at the Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO).
These studies are being conducted to determine safe dosage protocols and assess potential toxicity issues. The data from the tests will help inform clinical trial plans and other important aspects of product development programs.
In conjunction with Washington University in St. Louis, Theriva is also investigating an approach to prevent acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), a common and serious immune complication in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Allo-HCT, commonly known as bone marrow transplantation, is used to treat hematologic cancers, which begin in blood-forming tissue or immune system cells. Theriva’s oral β-lactamase (SYN-004), is an antibiotic-degrading enzyme being evaluated as a way to prevent aGVHD and other serious side effects caused by extensive use of antibiotics in these high-risk patients..
Addressing Difficult-To-Treat Cancers Represents Significant Commercial Opportunity
The various types of solid tumors that Theriva’s oncolytic virus therapies treat represent a global commercial opportunity that could be as large as $532 billion by 2032, according to Precedence Research. Other analysts estimate the global market will be over $885 billion by 2033.
Grand View Research estimates the global retinoblastoma treatment market will reach more than $3.3 billion by 2030. In its estimate of the growing market for treating the disease, Grand View attributes growing advancements in medical technology and the rising incidence of retinoblastoma.
Theriva Has High Hopes For Its Therapies
In a poster presented at the 2024 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the principal investigator and country coordinator of Theriva’s main clinical site in Spain, Dr. Rocio Garcia-Carbonero detailed the clinical trial design for the VIRAGE Phase 2b clinical trial of VCN-01 when administered to PDAC patients in combination with standard of care chemotherapy.
In a recent interview, Garcia-Carbonero noted that metastatic PDAC has a high fatality rate despite recent treatment advancements. While the field has seen minimal improvement in standard care for decades, she said that she has “high hopes for VCN-01 due to its unique mechanism of action, which differs from traditional chemotherapy. VCN-01 aims to induce a robust immune response against the cancer.”
More information about Theriva’s oncolytic virus therapies is available on the company’s website.
Featured photo by Prawny from Pixabay.
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