OncoSec Medical Incorporated, a company developing DNA-based intratumoral cancer immunotherapies, has presented a poster titled "Intratumoral Electroporation-mediated IL-12 Gene Therapy Can Enhance Tumor Immunogenicity" (Poster #2074), at the Keystone Symposia Conference, "Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy: Taking a Place in Mainstream Oncology," in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The poster included preclinical data demonstrating that in vivo electroporation of intratumoral plasmid IL-12 (ImmunoPulse IL-12) enhances immunogenicity in poorly immunogenic mouse cancer models.
"These data support the hypothesis that intratumoral delivery of plasmid IL-12 with electroporation can alter the tumor's immune environment in such a way that a 'cold' non-immunogenic tumor is converted to a 'hot' immunogenic tumor, thus further supporting recent clinical data that ImmunoPulse IL-12 is a rational combination therapy with anti-PD-1 checkpoint therapies," said Punit Dhillon, president and chief executive officer. "Also, generation of an antigen-specific CD8 T-cell response provides evidence for a potential mechanism of action for the abscopal responses seen in both preclinical and clinical settings."
OncoSec is a biotechnology company developing DNA-based intratumoral immunotherapies with an investigational technology, ImmunoPulse, for the treatment of cancer. ImmunoPulse is designed to enhance the local delivery and uptake of DNA-based immune-targeting agents, such as IL-12. In Phase I and II clinical trials, ImmunoPulse IL-12 has demonstrated a favorable safety profile and evidence of anti-tumor activity in the treatment of various solid tumors as well as a systemic immune response. OncoSec's lead programme, ImmunoPulse IL-12, is currently in clinical development for metastatic melanoma and triple-negative breast cancer. The program's current focus is on the significant unmet medical need in patients with melanoma who are refractory or non-responsive to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies. In addition to ImmunoPulse IL-12, the Company is also identifying and developing new immune-targeting agents for use with the ImmunoPulse platform.