Our Science

About Pelareorep

Pelareorep is a first-in-class double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) immunotherapy that can be delivered intravenously. It works by generating, recruiting, and training immune cells to recognize and kill cancer while remodeling the tumor microenvironment to enable immune cell access. In addition to its demonstrated single-agent activity, pelareorep can also work in synergy with chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), CAR T-cell therapy, proteasome inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, and CDK4/6 and PARP inhibitors to enhance its antitumor potential and meaningfully extend patient remissions.

Pelareorep specifically targets cancer cells and induces a cascade of inflammatory responses that activate the innate and adaptive immune system to destroy the tumor while sparing normal tissue. The unique ability of pelareorep to introduce dsRNA, a powerful immune stimulant, directly into cancer cells results in PD-L1 upregulation and cytokine and chemokine production, inducing enhanced infiltration and T-cell activation. Because pelareorep replicates only in tumor cells, it is well-tolerated by patients.

Pelareorep Treatment
Intravenous pela evades neutralization by associating with mononuclear cells in the blood and is delivered to the tumor.

Cold Tumor
Pela selectively infects and replicates in tumor cells with RAS pathway mutations. Pela replication produces dsRNA in tumor cells.

Hot Tumor
Pela infection kills some tumor cells by cell lysis and initiates an inflammatory response, through activation of chemokines and cytokines creating a “hot” tumor.

Tumor Under Attack
The pela-initiated inflammatory response results in activation and expansion of TIL clones that can attack and kill the tumor.

Broad potential

The unique mechanism of action behind pelareorep positions it as a platform immunotherapy for a variety of GI tumor indications.