TILT Biotherapeutics awarded $2m grant from US Department of Defense for ovarian cancer research
The DOD funded project will assess the safety and efficacy of TILT-123, in combination with pembrolizumab, in platinum-resistant or refractory ovarian cancer patients, as well as evaluating immune response, virus persistence and biological effects in tumors.
TILT-123, also known as Igrelimogene litadenorepvec, is a chimeric serotype adenovirus armed with two human cytokines that boost the patient’s systemic immune response to better enable it to find and destroy cancer cells.
It treats cancer by working synergistically with immune checkpoint inhibitors in solid tumors and can be delivered intravenously or intratumorally.
Ovarian cancer is a fatal disease with a pressing need for better therapies. Currently, there are no oncolytic viruses or check point inhibitors approved for use.
TILT Biotherapeutics’ CEO and founder Akseli Hemminki, a cancer clinician who has personally treated hundreds of cancer patients with oncolytic viruses, said: “We’re delighted to have been selected to receive our first U.S. grant. Working closely with the Mayo Clinic, it will support our efforts to unleash the full potential of oncolytic adenoviruses in treating ovarian cancer.
“We designed TILT-123 to improve the response rates in those many patients that are not responsive to current treatments. Our international clinical trials are progressing well through Phase I, and this significant grant is another key step in progressing these new therapies to reach patients in this high unmet medical need.”
Moving forward, the company is advancing its pipeline of programs across several cancer indications as a monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
