Oncolytics represent a fast-growing field of cancer therapies that activate the body’s own immune system to destroy tumor cells. G207 is particularly well suited for treating brain tumors alone or in combination with other marketed and experimental therapies.
Therapy
G207 is a modified oncolytic HSV-1 immunotherapy with a 20+ year development path.
History
Prior positive clinical results from ~40 adult patients treated with G207 led investigators to initiate a clinical study of G207 in pediatric patients.
Rationale
G207 has a strong safety profile. Pediatric brain tumors are uniquely sensitive to oncolytic virus therapy. Combining G207 with standard-of-care (e.g., radiation) or novel new drugs (e.g., checkpoint inhibitors) may provide significant survival benefit for patients.
Mechanism
G207 is engineered so that it selectively infects and kills tumor cells leaving healthy cells unharmed. Death of infected tumor cells releases G207 that spreads to infect additional tumor cells and to elicit a florid T-cell immune-related inflammatory response within the tumor. It is believed that the patient’s own immune response is a major basis for the anti-tumor efficacy of G207.