Viralytics' Cavatak shows immunotherapy potential

Viralytics (ASX:VLA) said its cancer immunotherapy candidate Cavatak has demonstrated evidence of oncolytic activity during an ongoing phase II trial in late-stage melanoma.

The latest interim results from the CALM trial have been presented at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Conference.

They show that multiple patients who have been on treatment for at least eight weeks have demonstrated partial or complete reduction of non-injected tumours.

The trial’s lead investigator, Dr Robert Andtbacka of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah, said these interim results are “very encouraging” signs.

“Reductions in non-injected tumours are a key measure of success for intralesional therapies such as Cavatak, as it suggests generation of an anticancer immune response in addition to ... targeted cancer cell killing at the site of injection,” he said.

The CALM trial hit its 54-patient recruitment target in January. It had already met its primary goal of achieving immune-related progression-free survival (iPRF) at six months in 10 patients.

Dr Andtbacka also presented results from a preclinical study assessing the combination use of Cavatak with a new class of cancer therapy, anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies. The combination performed significantly better in lab trials than either Cavatak or the antibodies alone.

The findings prove that the combination therapy warrants clinical investigation, Dr Andtbacka said.

Viralytics (ASX:VLA) shares were trading 3.23% higher at $0.32 as of around 1 pm on Tuesday.