Advanced liver cancer treatment new progress! The oncolytic virus drug VG161 has remarkable clinical effect

On December 20, China Bio's wechat official account published a blockbuster message as follows:

The oncolytic virus drug VG161 for solid tumor treatment, a class of innovative drug developed by Sinopsin's China Biology Institute, ZhongShengfu Nuojian Biotechnology (Shanghai) Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as Zhongshengfu Nuojian), passed the New Drug Clinical Research application (IND) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in September 2020, and entered clinical trials in China.

Recently, the novel immunoenhanced oncolytic virus (VG161) developed by Professor Liang Tingbo and his team in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine has achieved remarkable results in the treatment of advanced primary liver cancer. In the clinical study of advanced primary liver cancer that failed standard treatment (including checkpoint inhibitors), Professor Liang Tingbo's team successfully achieved radical resection of a patient with advanced liver cancer that failed standard treatment and could not be operated on through the use of VG161, which marked that VG161 has made phased achievements in the treatment of advanced liver cancer.

This patient, enrolled from phase II of the study, was inoperable due to large abdominal metastases pressing on major vessels. After 8 courses of VG161 treatment, the abdominal metastases were significantly reduced and radiographically indicated that they were completely inactive. According to the investigators' assessment, the patient recently received radical resection of the residual lesion and achieved tumor-free survival, indicating that VG161 monotherapy not only has good safety, but also has an important role in reducing the duration and grade of the tumor.

In addition, considerable antitumor efficacy data of VG161 have been preliminatively obtained in other aspects. VG161, for example, reverses tumor resistance to screening inhibitors, allowing patients who are already resistant to VG161 to continue to benefit from checkpoint inhibition therapy for survival. In phase II, 10 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who failed standard therapy have been evaluated, and preliminary results indicate prolonged median progression-free survival.

These preliminary results indicate that VG161 has antitumor effects on advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The sample size will continue to be expanded to obtain more clinical efficacy data. At the same time, continuous exploration and optimization of drug administration strategies, including combined administration, in order to achieve the best efficacy and benefit patients.

About VG161

VG161 is a novel anti-tumor immunoenhanced type I herpes simplex oncolytic virus with independent intellectual property rights owned by Zhongsanobunogen. It also carries the gene of IL12, IL15/15RA (IL15 and IL15 receptor alpha subunit) and PD-L1 blocking peptide (PDL1B). It is the first tumolytic virus in the world to express four genes with synergistic anti-tumor immune stimulation.

VG161 was injected into tumor tissue by intratumoral injection. When the virus replicated and lysed tumor cells, the four immunostimulatory factors carried by the virus were effectively expressed, which realized the coordination of oncolytic activity and immune stimulation. At the same time, further synergism occurs between the four immunostimulators expressed by the virus, thus transforming the antiviral immune response into a specific anti-tumor immune response.

VG161 has demonstrated significant antitumor efficacy in multiple tumor models, especially in some diseases that lack clinically effective therapies, such as liver cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, and pancreatic cancer.

Zhongsheng Fu Nuojian

Sinobiotech (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is a Sino-foreign joint venture jointly established by Sinobiotech Co., Ltd. and Sinobiotech Co., LTD. (Sinopharma China Bio). Established in May 2019, the company is located in Nanxiang Precision Medicine Industrial Park, Jiading District, Shanghai. Relying on the global leading oncolytic virus research and development platform of Fusnorhealth Bio, as well as the strong industrialization capacity and strong scientific research strength of China Bio, we jointly develop innovative oncolytic virus drugs, mRNA drugs and vaccines.
Source: Zhong Sheng Fu Nuojian