OncoSec Medical, a company developing DNA-based intratumoral cancer immunotherapies, received a phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH). The grant will fund collaborative research between OncoSec and Old Dominion University (ODU) to evaluate and develop novel electroporation technologies.
Robert H. Pierce, chief scientific officer, said, "We are very pleased to announce our award of this SBIR grant. It represents one aspect of our continuing efforts to explore novel ways to improve the efficiency and tolerability of electroporation-mediated gene expression technologies."
Funding is provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the NIH in the amount of $163,000 to establish the feasibility of a novel electroporation technology that will utilise wave interference phenomena to produce an electroporation waveform that could be used to increase the efficiency of DNA transfection into a cell. Additional phase II funding of up to $1.0 Million through the SBIR programme funding may be available to commercialise the technology depending on the outcome of the phase I studies.
OncoSec Medical's core technology is designed to enhance the local delivery and uptake of DNA IL-12 and other DNA-based immune-targeting agents. Clinical studies of ImmunoPulse have demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and preliminary evidence of anti-tumor activity in the treatment of various skin cancers, as well as the potential to initiate a systemic immune response without the systemic toxicities associated with other treatments. OncoSec's lead program evaluating ImmunoPulse for the treatment of metastatic melanoma is currently in phase 2 development, and is being conducted in collaboration with several prominent academic medical centres. As the company continues to evaluate ImmunoPulse in its current indications, it is also focussed on identifying and developing new immune-targeting agents, investigating additional tumour indications, and evaluating combination-based immunotherapy approaches.