OncoSec Medical Inc. (ONCS): Pushing the Limits of Cancer Treatment
No CommentsPosted 15 Oct 2012
Category Biotechnology and Drugs, Healthcare, Investing, Market News, ONCS, Sectors, Stocks, Trading By The Swiss Trader
Recently, the San Francisco Chronicle carried a story about a promising treatment for melanoma at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). UCSF is one of three cancer centers in the U.S. testing electroImmunotherapy, a form of electroporation using an immunotherapy therapy as its agent of choice, in clinical trials for the treatment of melanoma. Cancer patient David Amoroso has been receiving treatment since March, after a mole on his forehead turned into a late-stage melanoma tumor, leaving him with a 24% chance of survival. Had he reached the next stage, metastatic melanoma, his chance of survival would have been reduced to 10% to 15%. Instead of opting for conventional treatment and drugs, he volunteered to undergo ElectroImmunotherapy treatment. Results have been positive so far, as four out of his six visible tumors seem to have vanished. The treatment is weeks from proving completely effective and years from being commercially available, according to Adil Daud, the trial’s chief investigator and co-director of UCSF’s Melanoma Program. But he said, “I think it has a lot of potential for the future.”
The studies are being sponsored by OncoSec Medical Inc. (OTC:ONCS), a San Diego, Claifornia based biotech company that is developing the technology. OncoSec is also testing the treatment on two other rare and aggressive skin cancers: Merkel cell carcinoma and T-cell lymphoma. When Amoroso receives the treatment, he is first given an injection in the area around the tumor with interleukin-12 (IL-12) plasmid DNA. An electroporation device is connected to six electrodes which are inserted into the targeted tumor and marginal tissue. The device then briefly applies 1300 volts to the tissue. Within a few microseconds, the electrical charge opens the cellular membrane pores of the cancer cells and allows them to absorb the pre-injected IL-12 plasmid. When the current is turned off, the pores reseal and trap the agent inside. Once inside the cells, the absorbed IL-12 plasmid then instructs the cells to produce IL-12 which sends a warning to the body’s immune system about the presence of harmful tumor cells. Immune cells will then attack and destroy the cells with the IL-12 expression, a novel targeting concept by the ElectroImmunotherapy technology. The treatment procedure is over in seconds, and none of the nine patients have reported any side effects. One melanoma patient in the trial has not responded, but the other eight have seen most, if not all, of their tumors shrink. These nine patients have enrolled in the trial because they had tried surgery or drugs which did not work.
OncoSec Medical is developing its proprietary electroporation platform called OMS as a delivery system for anti-cancer agents. It has two separate approaches using its OMS platform. The first approach utilizing IL-12 is called ElectroImmunotherapy, branded as ImmunoPulse. The second approach, called ElectroChemotherapy and branded as NeoPulse, delivers an approved chemotherapy drug called bleomycin to the tumor or cancer site. Because this is a drug delivery system, the company believes that there is potential to deliver many varieties of approved anti-cancer drugs. The company has seen an uptake improvement of up to 4,000 times in the absorption of the agent relative to traditional injection methodologies. This means that effectiveness is increased, and much less of the agent needs to be used, thus minimizing side effects.
In a recent interview, OncoSec Medical CEO and president, Punit Dhillon, provided an update on recent developments. The company has completed analysis of the phase III head and neck cancer data, and presented these results at this year’s International Head and Neck Cancer Conference in Toronto in July. It is currently evaluating the extensive database of information obtained from both the phase 3 and 4 NeoPulse trials pertaining to the pharmacoeconomic benefits of the therapy, and results are expected to be published in the first quarter of 2013. Because of OncoSec’s limited resources, there is a strong focus on the ImmunoPulse program as the company appears to be making the most of its funding, a positive for investors as the company is careful to not overstep its financial boundaries. For the NeoPulse program, the focus is to present data to a number of specifically chosen potential partners to enable them to evaluate the licensing opportunities. The company believes that this could be a near-term commercial opportunity, and that if an agreement can be reached with a partner, it would be a significant validation of the data and program. With respect to the ImmunoPulse program, interim analysis of data for the phase II trials is currently being carried out for both the melanoma trial (OMS-I100) and the Merkel cell carcinoma trial (OMS-I110), and results are expected to be presented by the end of 2012.
The company has had encouraging results on safety and efficacy, and the CEO stated that its phase 1 data is best-in-class for any metastatic melanoma program in history. The company has met every milestone that it has set since inception, and enrollment expectations have been exceeded for every program. Important milestones coming up this year include interim data from the melanoma and Merkel cell program, along with updates on potential deals relating to the NeoPulse program. He adds that the company’s positioning in the cancer immunotherapy space is unique. For years, scientists have concluded that the cause of many cancers is a dysfunctional immune system, thus leading to the development of new agents. The problem, however, has been the inability to deliver these agents effectively while maintaining acceptable levels of safety for the patient. Moreover, the treatment is cost-effective because it has the potential to be administered in an outpatient clinic.
OncoSec Medical is unlike many other early stage biotech companies, which are often dependent on the successful development and commercialization of one new drug. The good news for ONCS investors is that OncoSec Medical is not developing a new drug, but a drug delivery system that uses already approved drugs. The company is hedging its bets by developing two lines of treatment on its OMS platform, NeoPulse and ImmunoPulse. Many of the usual risks of investing in the biotech sector are mitigated, though the company must still obtain the necessary regulatory approvals and commercialize the treatment successfully. OncoSec Medical is currently trading around $0.25, between a 52-week range of $0.12 and $1.00. I believe investors looking for exposure to potentially groundbreaking cancer treatments should consider OncoSec Medical now, as this stock will likely trade several multiples higher upon new successful developments of either of its new treatments.
Disclosure: Long ONCS
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