REOLYSIN® Overview

•  View animation of REOLYSIN® and chemotherapy
•  View animation of systemic administration of REOLYSIN®
•  View animation of REOLYSIN® in combination with radiation treatment

Oncolytics' technologies are based on discoveries arising from research conducted at the University of Calgary. Dr. Matt Coffey, Chief Scientific Officer for Oncolytics, was instrumental in these discoveries and continues to play a pivotal role in the product development process.

REOLYSIN®, the company's proprietary formulation of the human reovirus, has been demonstrated to replicate specifically in tumour cells bearing an activated Ras pathway. Activating mutations of Ras and upstream elements of Ras may play a role in greater than two thirds of all human cancers. REOLYSIN® may represent a novel treatment for Ras activated tumour cells and some cellular proliferative disorders.

Reovirus, an acronym for Respiratory Enteric Orphan virus, is generally believed to inhabit the respiratory and bowel systems in humans. Reovirus is found naturally in sewage and water supplies. By age 12, half of all children show evidence of reovirus exposure and by adulthood, most people have been exposed. However, the disease is non-pathogenic, meaning there are typically no symptoms from infections. The link to its cancer-killing ability was established after the reovirus was discovered to reproduce well in various cancer cell lines.

Tumours bearing an activated Ras pathway are deficient in their ability to activate the anti-viral response mediated by the host cellular protein, PKR. Since PKR is responsible for preventing reovirus replication, tumour cells lacking the activity of PKR are susceptible to reovirus replication. As normal cells do not possess Ras activations, these cells are able to stop reovirus infection through normal PKR activity. In tumour cells with an activated Ras pathway, reovirus is able to freely replicate and eventually kill the host tumour cells. As cell death occurs, progeny virus particles are then free to infect surrounding cancer cells. This cycle of infection, replication and cell death is believed to be repeated until there are no longer any tumour cells carrying an activated Ras pathway available.

More recently, Oncolytics has discovered that tumour antigens generated by this viral oncolysis may educate the immune system to recognize and kill tumour cells.

The activation of the Ras pathway can be mimicked in non-cancerous cells by treating these cells with the chemical 2-aminopurine (2-AP) which prevents the activation of PKR.

Oncolytics' clinical program includes human trials using REOLYSIN® alone and in combination with radiation and chemotherapy. Please click here to view the clinical trial program for REOLYSIN®.