ORYX GmbH & Co. KG products

The human cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16INK4a is a tumor antigen expressed in various cancers, including lung and breast cancer. In normal cells, p16INK4a is rarely expressed and leads to immediate senescence. In all cancers associated with high risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV), p16INK4a is constantly expressed as an early consequence of HR-HPV-mediated cell transformation. About 5% of all cancers are associated with HR-HPV including virtually all cervical cancers, 85-95% of anal and vulvar cancers, 20-40% of vaginal and penile cancers and 30-60% of head and neck cancers. Currently, two prophylactic vaccines are on the market that induce HPV-type specific protective immunity but do not have a therapeutic effect on HPV infections. In patients with HR-HPV-associated cancers, humoral and cellular immune responses against p16INK4a occur spontaneously. In healthy people, such immune responses have not been observed.

ParvOryx is an oncolytic parvovirus H1 (H-1PV), a wild type rat virus that infects and lyses tumor cells from a wide variety of cancers. These tumor types include glioblastoma multiforme, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, lymphoma, pediatric tumors such as neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma, prostate cancer and renal cancer, as well as tumor stem cells. ParvOryx (parvus = small) is the smallest of all oncolytic viruses and is able to cross the blood brain barrier. Unlike other natural or modified oncolytic viruses currently under investigation, ParvOryx does not affect normal cells and is not pathogenic to humans. The special properties of ParvOryx allow for both intratumoral and intravenous administration as well as repeated application (booster).

Several cancers arise from the lack of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) resulting in the accumulation of thousands of single deletions or insertions at coding microsatellites (MSI-H). These mutations lead to the inactivation of specific proteins and to the expression of frameshift peptides (FSPs). These FSPs are tumor-specific antigens, which are constantly expressed. Cancers with MSI-H mutations include 10-15 % of colorectal cancers, 20-25 % of endometrial cancers, 25-30 % of upper urinary tract cancers, 15-20 % of intestinal gastric cancers and 5-10% of pancreatic cancers. In patients with MSI-H colorectal cancer, humoral and cellular immune responses against FSPs occur spontaneously. In healthy people, such immune responses have not been observed.