Oxford UK November 19, 2024. Theolytics, a clinical‑stage biotechnology company developing next‑generation oncolytic immunotherapies, has dosed the first patient in its Phase I/IIa multi‑centre, open‑label first‑in‑human trial (OCTOPOD - NCT06618235) of THEO‑260 in patients with advanced‑stage platinum‑resistant ovarian cancer (PROC).
Ovarian Cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths among women. It exhibits a stromal rich, immune‑suppressed TME, abundant with cancer‑associated fibroblasts (CAFs). CAFs drive chemo‑resistance, relapse, exclusion of T cells and disease progression.
Theolytics’ discovery platform, with >100 million oncolytic candidates and clinically relevant phenotypic selection systems, was applied to identify a mechanistically differentiated adenovirus - THEO‑260 - for high grade serous ovarian cancer. It is capable of lysing both ovarian patient cancer cells and CAFs, whilst triggering immunogenic cell death and promoting T‑cell activation in preclinical studies. The potential therapeutic impact of this multi‑front approach is significant, particularly in the PROC patient population, a complex solid cancer with few treatment options.
The Phase I/IIa clinical trial is designed to investigate the safety and tolerability of THEO‑260 administered via intravenous delivery and determine the recommended Phase 2 dose. Demonstration of THEO‑260’s differentiated oncolytic mechanism in the clinic will be supported by comprehensive biomarker analysis.