Albumin Shield Technology
Building on the clinical advancement of VCN-01, Theriva developed the Albumin Shield™ technology to protect oncolytic viruses from circulating anti-oncolytic virus antibodies after systemic administration. We anticipate that this technology will enable multiple oncolytic virus doses to be administered in therapeutic cycles to treat particularly refractory tumors.
Preclinical proof of concept for the Albumin Shield™ technology has been demonstrated with the archetype VCN-11, and a range of Albumin Shield™ oncolytic viruses with different therapeutic payloads are currently under consideration. Other technologies in earlier stages of development are also being explored by our experienced scientific team.
To date, more than 80 patients have been dosed with VCN-01 in phase 1 clinical trials in patients with a broad range of cancers, including PDAC, retinoblastoma, colorectal cancer, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Additional investigator-sponsored studies have been initiated in patients with brain cancers and ovarian cancers.
VCN-01 has demonstrated an acceptable safety profile at the doses used, and accumulated data support the proposed mechanism of action and phase 2 dosing regimen. Although these phase 1 clinical trials were not randomized controlled trials, there were encouraging observations in VCN-01–treated patients with respect to tumor response and patient survival.
We are continuously working to advance clinical initiatives for our first-in-class immuno-oncologic therapies.