SAN DIEGO, Sept. 11, 2012 -- OncoSec Medical Inc. (OTCBB: ONCS), a company developing its advanced-stage ImmunoPulse and NeoPulse therapies to treat solid tumor cancers, announced it has secured an exclusive license for specific patented technology from the University of South Florida Research Foundation (USFRF) relating to the delivery of gene-based therapeutics via intratumoral and intramuscular electroporation.
This patent is directly related to the ongoing Phase II trials for metastatic melanoma, Merkel cell carcinoma and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma using the company's ImmunoPulse therapy, and extends patent protection for the ImmunoPulse technology to the year 2024. Financial terms of this agreement were not disclosed.
OncoSec's proprietary gene and drug delivery platform, the OncoSec Medical System (OMS) electroporation device, is currently being used to develop the company's ImmunoPulse and NeoPulse therapies. This platform encompasses patents, technology and other intellectual property for intratumoral methods for delivering drugs and gene-based treatments in humans.
ImmunoPulse involves the application of a brief electric field to the surface of the skin. This temporarily opens pores in the cell membrane, allowing anti-cancer agent DNA IL-12, to be absorbed more efficiently. DNA IL-12, which normally has difficulty penetrating the tumor cell membrane to get inside these cells, has been shown to significantly stimulate the immune system's T-cells to fight the cancer. The new license from USFRF complements OncoSec's seminal patents, particularly for the protection of the methods involved in the ImmunoPulse treatment, and specifically for the use of DNA IL-12.
"Our licensing agreement with the USFRF significantly strengthens OncoSec's intellectual property rights in the area of gene and drug delivery via in vivo electroporation," said Punit Dhillon, OncoSec's President and CEO. "We anticipate that the further development of this technology will enhance the ability of ImmunoPulse to address the serious unmet need among patients with skin cancer. OncoSec's patent portfolio places us in a preeminent position within the field of electroporation-based delivery of gene-based treatments for cancer."
"OncoSec is the ideal choice to further develop this technology that I and my colleagues pioneered while working at the University of South Florida, and I am pleased they have secured this license," said Richard Heller, Ph.D., author of the patented technology. "The technology involves short-pulsed electric fields that can deliver plasmid DNA to stimulate the immune system. As a result, it is a natural fit with OncoSec's ongoing program to develop its ImmunoPulse therapy."
PR Newswire