12th Jan 2015 07:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC said Monday its biologics research and development arm MedImmune has inked a licensing deal with privately held biotechnology firm Omnis Pharmaceuticals.
Under the deal MedImmune has a license to develop, and if successful, commercialise Omnic's lead oncolytic virus programme. The programme, utilising a genetically engineered strain of the vesicular stomatitis virus, is currently undergoing a phase I clinical trial for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and other cancers that have metastasised to the liver.
MedImmune plans to accelerate clinical development of this virus, with the aim of rapidly progressing combination studies with its immunotherapy molecules, it said.
"Oncolytic viruses combine potent tumour cell killing with increasing the visibility of the tumour cell to the immune system. Our immunotherapy molecules offer the prospect of boosting the cancer-killing abilities of these viruses by enhancing the anti-cancer effect," said Edward Bradley, head of MedImmmune's Onology Innovative Medicines Unit, in a statement.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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