Cytonus Therapeutics to Present Preclinical Data for Systemically Delivered Oncolytic Virus Program for Treating Metastatic Cancers at AACR 2022

SAN DIEGO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cytonus Therapeutics Inc. (Cytonus), a biotechnology company developing therapeutic products for targeted delivery in vivo, announces that their CSO, Dr. Richard Klemke Ph.D., will present the preclinical progress made on Cytonus’ lead Cargocyte product candidates at the annual AACR meeting in New Orleans.

Cargocytes loaded with an Oncolytic Virus (CA-OV-VSV) are engineered to actively home, migrate, and penetrate into tumor micrometastatic foci, hours after intravenous administration.

Dr. Klemke will share data demonstrating striking infiltration of engineered Cargocytes into solid tumors in in vivo models of metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), localizing and shielding the company’s proprietary Oncolytic Virus construct from immune neutralization and clearance.

Abstract #378: Bioengineering enucleated cell vehicles for tumor targeted intravenous delivery of oncolytic viruses

These results highlight the capabilities of Cytonus’ innovative Cargocyte™ platform in addressing solid tumor penetration challenges. Importantly, Cargocytes offer localized delivery of potent immunotherapies in a controlled manner to enhance their safety profile.

“Oncolytic Viruses are an exciting new option for fighting cancers. However, the immune system is very good at identifying and rapidly neutralizing viruses administered intravenously which greatly limits their anti-cancer efficacy,” said Dr. Remo Moomiaie-Qajar, M.D. co-founder and CEO of Cytonus Therapeutics. “Our Cargocyte platform can shield oncolytic viruses from an immune attack and deliver the virus deep into the tumor microenvironment within hours after systemic administration.”

“The majority of current therapeutic approaches utilizing oncolytic viruses are relegated to direct intra-tumoral administration. However, cancer is a systemic disease and can spread to multiple sites in the body. Solutions that address the systemic spread of cancer are sorely needed,” said Dr. Moomiaie-Qajar, M.D. “Cargocytes are specifically engineered for systemic administration and can deliver viruses to multiple cancer locations in a precise and eloquent way without over burdening the body with large amounts of free virus.”

“Our unique approach has been recognized as a vertical move in science from numerous granting organizations including the NIH and California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). We are looking to bring our lead candidate CA-OV-VSV to the clinic within a year.”

About Cargocyte™

Cargocyte products are derived from enucleated cell lines and are uniquely engineered with specific disease targeting molecules to safely transport therapeutic payloads intravenously and deep into difficult-to-reach target tissues. Cargocytes can deliver and actively produce the therapeutic agent of choice on-site in a controlled, predictable, and safe manner. The proprietary Cargocyte technology is a first-in-class therapeutic platform with numerous potential medical applications across unmet therapeutic areas. Cytonus is developing a broad and deep pipeline of bioengineered Cargocytes for targeted delivery of a wide range of therapeutic modalities including Protein, Peptides, RNAs, ASOs, small molecule drugs, viruses, and gene editing agents.

About Cytonus Therapeutics

Cytonus Therapeutics Inc. is a San Diego-based biotech company developing proprietary therapeutic products to treat unmet needs in cancer, CNS, and inflammatory diseases.

For more information, we invite you to visit the Cytonus website at https://Cytonus.com. Join Cytonus on LinkedIn and follow its Twitter account at: @CytonusTx.

Statements in this news release other than strictly historical facts, such as statements about Cytonus' plans and strategies, new and existing products and technologies, anticipated clinical and regulatory pathways, and markets for its products, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "aim," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results due to many factors, including regulatory and development risks. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement. This news release is neither an offer to sell, nor the solicitation of any offer to purchase, any security.

Henry Gillespie
press@cytonus.com