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news.Jennerex, a manufacturer of targeted oncolytic virus products for cancer, has announced that the first patient has been treated in a Phase 2a clinical trial of JX-594 as a neoadjuvant therapy in patients who are undergoing surgery to treat colorectal cancer.
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JX-594 is a proprietary, engineered oncolytic virus that will selectively target and destroy cancer cells by degrading cancer cells through viral replication, blocking the blood supply to tumors through vascular targeting and destruction, and stimulating the body’s immune response against cancer cells.
The Phase 2a trial will involve around 20 colorectal cancer patients, who will receive a single injection of JX-594 intravenously or intratumorally two weeks prior to surgical resection.
The study will evaluate tumors for evidence of JX-594 replication and pathologic response, following which patients will be investigated for progression-free survival and overall survival.
The previous Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials have demonstrated that JX-594 is found to be safe, well-tolearted and induces tumor shrinkage and/or necrosis with mild side effects.
Jennerex president and chief medical officer David Kirn said they believe that JX-594 could play an important role in the treatment of cancers and look forward to the results of this trial along with data from the larger ongoing Phase 2b study, called TRAVERSE, in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.