[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s biotheraputic company SillaJen said March 3 it will make full-fledged development of new virus-based cancer drug candidate.
SillaJen signed a contract with the Canada-based Ottawa Hospital Research Institute for the production of JX-970 to be used in upcoming multinational clinical trials on March 2.
The company, focused on the development of oncolytic immunotherapy products for cancer, hopes the potential treatment to be a growth driver along with its first engineered liver cancer-fighting virus Pexa-Vec, under phase 3 clinical trials.
“We expect JX-970 to become a cancer-fighting virus that will show high efficacy and safety as Pexa-Vec does,” the company said in a press release.
SillaJen hasn’t filed an investigational new drug application for the new potential cancer treatment with the US Food and Drug Administration yet.
The use of viruses in cancer treatment is part of a growing field of research called immunotherapy. The idea is to use genes, antibodies and viruses to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer on its own.
The exclusive marketing and manufacturing rights of JX-970 are owned by SillaJen Biotherapeutics, the US-based subsidiary of the Korean firm.
“With the exclusive worldwide rights, it is possible to set up a multifaceted strategy for future license out deals,” SillaJen said.
It plans to commence clinical trials of the drug candidate on patients with advanced solid tumors and also will test the effectiveness with a two-drug cocktail with other existing immunotherapy treatments.
On the news, SillaJen shares increased 9.39 percent to trade at 11,650 won (US$10.10) as of 11:30 a.m.
By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)