Source: www.marketwatch.com
Author: press release

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced today that that it has started patient enrollment in a Phase 2 clinical trial using intravenous administration of Reolysin(R) in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced head and neck cancers. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Monica Mita of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

“We are extremely pleased to open the second disease-directed study with Reolysin(R),” said Dr. Mita. “This study represents a promising option for patients with head and neck tumors refractory to standard chemotherapy and we are happy to have the opportunity to offer this option to our patients.”
This trial is a 14-patient, single arm, open-label, dose-targeted, non-randomized trial of Reolysin(R) given intravenously in combination with a standard dosage of paclitaxel and carboplatin.

Eligible patients include those with advanced or metastatic head and neck cancers that are refractory to standard therapy or for which no curative standard therapy exists. The primary objective of the Phase 2 trial is to measure tumour responses and duration of response, and to describe any evidence of antitumour activity. The secondary objective is to determine the safety and tolerability of Reolysin(R) when administered in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin to patients with advanced or metastatic head and neck cancers.

About Oncolytics Biotech Inc.
Oncolytics is a Calgary-based biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics. Oncolytics’ clinical program includes a variety of Phase I/II and Phase II human trials using Reolysin(R), its proprietary formulation of the human reovirus, alone and in combination with radiation or chemotherapy.

About CTRC
The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is among the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug trials program in the world, and participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.