Oncolytics Biotech Announces Clinical and Biomarker Data Demonstrating Clinical Proof-of-Concept for Pelareorep-Checkpoint Inhibitor Combination in Pancreatic Cancer

- The study achieved a 42% disease control rate in difficult-to-treat, second-line pancreatic cancer patients despite the absence of chemotherapy in the treatment regimen

- Pelareorep and pembrolizumab synergize to generate anti-cancer immune responses in patients showing disease control

- Clinical response was associated with increased activation of anti-cancer CD8+ T cells

SAN DIEGO, Calif. and CALGARY, AB, May 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC) today announced clinical and biomarker data demonstrating clinical proof-of-concept for pelareorep-checkpoint inhibitor combination therapy in pancreatic cancer. The data will be featured in an upcoming electronic poster presentation at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, which is taking place virtually from June 4 – 8, 2021.

The newly announced data are from a phase 2 trial evaluating pelareorep in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) in pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients who progressed after first-line treatment. Findings from the trial indicate that pelareorep and pembrolizumab synergize and show anti-cancer activity in these difficult-to-treat patients, which is mediated through the complementary immunotherapeutic effects of the two agents.

"These results are very promising, particularly considering the extremely challenging patient population enrolled in the trial. That we saw a response signal in select patients, despite the absence of chemotherapy, provides evidence of the considerable anti-cancer activity of pelareorep-pembrolizumab combination therapy," said Principal Investigator, Devalingam Mahalingam, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. "We notably observed an association between treatment-induced anti-cancer immune responses and improved tumor control in some patients, which demonstrates pelareorep's underlying immunologic mechanism of action and validates the strategy of combining it with checkpoint inhibition. I look forward to discussing these data with the scientific community at the upcoming ASCO conference and to the continued evaluation of pelareorep-checkpoint inhibitor combination therapy in select patients with pancreatic and other gastrointestinal cancers."