VectorLogics, Inc.




		Product Progress Product Candidates VectorLogics’ product candidates, through their specificity and efficiency, have the potential to address, and correct, some of the major limitations of gold standard cancer therapeutics – mainly, lack of efficiency to specific cancer cells and toxicity to normal cells. Superinfection therapy combined with oral delivery of VLI’s novel drug candidate has the potential to treat chronic HBV and HCV hepatitis, and other viral pathogens. Go top... VectorLogics is focusing on three key product areas making use of our patented targeted and shielded adenovector technology: • Cancer Virotherapy • Cancer Vaccines • Prophylactic Vaccines Cancer Virotherapeutics Virotherapy is a new strategy to treat cancer by selectively transducing and killing tumor cells. The viruses used in virotherapy can either kill tumor cells by bursting them open or deliver genes that make the cells more susceptible to traditional chemotherapies. Initial efforts are focused on intratumorally- and regionally-administered virotherapeutics for ovarian and brain cancers. VLI's lead product, a transduction enhanced conditionally replicative vector will be the first efficiency enhanced targeted adenovector entering clinical trials. The coat protein modifications incorporated into this vector can transduce a large number of clinically relevant tumor cell types that include ovarian, brain and pancreatic cells. VLI's lead clinical candidate has a built-in safety feature that allows the vector to discriminate between malignant tissue and healthy tissue. It replicates more effectively in rapidly dividing cancer cells while sparing the more slowly dividing normal cells from damage. This safety feature will be maintained in the second generation shielded conditionally replicative product as well. Hedley, S.J., Chen, J., Mountz, J.D., Li, J., Curiel, D.T., Korokhov, N., and Kovesdi, I. (2006) Targeted and Shielded Adenovectors for Cancer Therapy. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 55, 1412-1419. Cancer Vaccines Go top... VLI is developing intradermally-administered cancer vaccines designed to selectively target dendritic cells. The VLI cancer vaccine targets dendritic cells directly through their receptors as well as indirectly through the transduction of surrounding skin cells for maximum effect. This unique and highly innovative approach represents a potentially effective treatment for a large numbers of cancers including metastatic diseases. Furthermore, it is a therapy that seeks to harness the body's own defenses to fight the uncontrolled growth and spread of cancer cells. These vaccines are biological therapies designed to stimulate the patient’s immune system to destroy cancer cells that the body has become tolerant of. The first vaccine is currently in the preclinical stage of development for colorectal cancer. We believe the development of such highly specific and highly selective products as adjuvant therapy to established regimens represents significant therapeutic and commercial opportunities. Hedley SJ, Auf der Maur A, Hohn S, Escher D, Barberis A, Glasgow JN, Douglas JT, Korokhov N, Curiel DT. (2006) An adenovirus vector with a chimeric fiber incorporating stabilized single chain antibody achieves targeted gene delivery. Gene Therapy 13: 88-94. Prophylactic Vaccines Go top... A potentially simple and lucrative use of VLI's technology is the development of prophylactic vaccines for HIV, malaria, and bioterrorism threats such as anthrax and plague. VLI is well positioned for multiple licensing opportunities with pharmaceutical companies engaged in the commercialization of vaccines. Simply stated, our technology could create better and safer products for a host of companies. We also believe that some of our prophylactic products will serve as the first line of defense for specific disease applications. Hepatitis Therapeutic Vaccines Go top... Vaccine-mediated protection against persistent viruses, such as HCV, is unfortunately very difficult to achieve. Despite substantial efforts to develop new prophylactic vaccines, this has proven to be very difficult. Realistically, the prospects of a prophylactic HCV vaccine remain remote. Clearly, alternative treatment strategies are needed. Such could be the exploitation of viral interference as a therapeutic vaccine strategy in treating persistent viral infections. In collaboration with HepC Kft., Hungary, VLI is developing orally-administered hepatitis therapeutic vaccines based on an attenuated avian virus (IBDV) that causes no disease in humans. IBDV interferes with replication of liver specific human viruses, induces interferon (IFN) production in the liver and a multi-functional inhibitor of infectious agents. Furthermore, IBDV can be delivered orally because it remains active at pH 2.0 and can be produced in Vero cell cultures for large scale manufacture. A phase II clinical trial reported the safety and efficacy of IBDV superinfection therapy in 42 acute hepatitis patients. IBDV showed stable, significant clinical improvement and long-lasting remission in a phase I clinical trial in decompensated chronic hepatitis patients as well. The first product will capitalize on the absence of effective treatment for chronic hepatitis. VLI plans to design and conduct Phase II and Pivotal clinical trials to develop and test the IBDV superinfection therapy in chronic hepatitis patient non-responsive to conventional treatments. Bakács T, Mehrishi JN. (2004) Examination of the value of treatment of decompensated viral hepatitis patients by intentionally coinfecting them with an apathogenic IBDV and using the lessons learnt to seriously consider treating patients infected with HIV using the apathogenic hepatitis G virus. Vaccine 23(1), 3-13. Csatary LK, Schnabel R, Bakács T. (1999) Successful treatment of decompensated chronic viral hepatitis by bursal disease virus vaccine. Anticancer Res.19(1B):629-33. Csatary LK, Telegdy L, Gergely P, Bodey B, Bakacs T. (1998) Preliminary report of a controlled trial of MTH-68/B virus vaccine treatment in acute B and C hepatitis: a phase II study. Anticancer Res.18(2B):1279-82. Go top...