ColoAd1 is an oncolytic vaccine developed using the power of natural selection. A large randomly created chimeric adenovirus library was first subjected to multiple rounds of directed selection using cancer cells. The viruses that most potently killed cancer cells were then screened against a panel of normal non-cancer cells to see which of the cancer killing viruses had also lost the ability to replicate in their natural environment. ColoAd1 is the lead virus from this process and represents a unique cancer vaccine with optimal anti-cancer properties and a very high therapeutic index, which is up to 1,200 times more potent at killing human cancer cells than non-cancers cells.
ColoAd1 can be delivered by intravenous infusion because, unlike many other viruses, it is stable in human blood, with a low level of binding to blood components. As a large particle, ColoAd1 cannot pass through the endothelial layer of blood vessels and therefore has a tendency to accumulate in tumor metastases due to their leaky vasculature.
Once in tumor cells, ColoAd1 replicates in and destroys the cells whilst also producing up to forty thousand new viral copies per cell. These copies then spread to nearby cancer cells, killing them too. This dynamic process represents a new generation of 'self-amplifying' anti-cancer therapies. However, once cancerous cells are destroyed, the virus cannot efficiently infect normal cells and is eliminated.
Unlike most other viruses, ColoAd1 kills cancer cells rapidly by a non-apoptotic mechanism. This necrolytic cell death releases the tumor specific cancer antigens together with inflammatory mediators, thus driving a specific anti-cancer immune response. ColoAd1 thus also acts as an in-situ personalized anti-cancer vaccine, producing an immune response directed to the patient’s own personal cancer.
ColoAd1 thus has a dual effect, acting through immediate direct necrolytic cancer cell death and through long term immunological control of the cancer.
Disclaimer
“ColoAd1 is an oncolytic vaccine that is not approved for human use and is currently being investigated in Phase I and II clinical trials for the systemic treatment of metastatic cancer. To learn more about ColoAd1, visit PsiOxus Therapeutics online at Psioxus.com.”
