According to a story from PR Newswire, the clinical-stage company Vyriad, Inc. and the biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. are partnering in a licensing agreement and research collaboration to investigate and develop treatments based on viruses that could potentially kill cancer cells. The central project of this partnership will include a phase 2 clinical trial.
Fighting Cancer With Viruses
This study will test a combination of two therapies, one developed by each company. The therapies in question are Regeneron’s cemiplimab-rwlc (marketed as Libtayo) and Vyriad’s experimental cancer cell-killing virus called Voyager-V1. This trial will test the combination treatment against a diverse array of cancer types, such as melanoma, endometrial cancer, lung cancer, and liver cancer.
In addition to this trial, the companies will also collaborate in research for a period of five years that will involve the development of a Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-based cancer therapy. This effort will utilize Regeneron’s VelociSuite system to speed up the development cycle.
About Libtayo
Libtayo has been approved in Canada, Brazil, the US, and the EU as a treatment for adults with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) that is either locally advanced or metastatic (spreading to other parts of the body). This drug is to be used on those patients who cannot benefit from either radiation therapy or surgery with curative intent. The drug is currently being researched for a variety of other malignancies, such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck cancer, cervical cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, multiple myeloma, and several others.
About Voyager-V1
Voyager-V1 is an experimental cancer-killing virus that has been programmed to target cancer cells exclusively. The virus has been altered with the inclusion of an interferon beta gene. This improves safety and effectiveness and also allows the activity of the virus to be tracked more easily. Voyager-V1 is designed to draw immune cells to the site of the tumor and replicate quickly within the cancer cells without damaging other cells.
The use of viruses to treat cancer represents a unique approach to treatment that has so far received scant attention. However, if this partnership produces a successful therapy, we may be hearing a lot more about cancer-killing viruses in the future.