Oncolytics granted patent for cancer treatment

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., Feb. 7 - Oncolytics Biotech Inc. said it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,994,858 for methods of using the reovirus ex vivo to eliminate contaminating cancer cells from autologous (harvested from the patient themselves) blood stem cell transplants.

The patent is entitled "Reovirus Clearance of Ras-Mediated Neoplastic Cells from Mixed Cellular Compositions," according to a company news release.

Oncolytics said the results of a study to purge cancer cells from autologous stem cell preparations using the reovirus were previously published in the March 13, 2003 issue of Blood.

"The results of this study demonstrated that the reovirus may have a role to play in purging contaminating cancer cells from stem cell preparations used for transplants," Dr. Matt Coffey, chief scientific officer, said in the release.

"This patent provides Oncolytics with an important extension of the potential use of the reovirus for the treatment of cancer."

It has been estimated that as many as 30% of autologous stem cell transplants are contaminated by cancer cells and may contribute to clinical relapse of cancer.

Oncolytics is a Calgary-based biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics.

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