CG0070, an oncolytic virus therapy with specificity for multiple cancers, has been evaluated in numerous preclinical studies. CG0070 is the first “armed” oncolytic virus therapy developed by Cell Genesys, so-named because it has been engineered to secrete GM-CSF, an immune stimulating hormone, which also serves as the adjuvant in our cancer immunotherapy platform. As a result, CG0070 can potentially destroy cancer cells by two different mechanisms: direct cell killing by the virus and immune-mediated cell killing stimulated by GM-CSF. In early 2005, we announced that an Investigational New Drug (IND) application filed with the FDA for CG0070 had become effective. We initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with recurrent bladder cancer in April 2005. In July 2006, we announced that enrollment has been opened for an expanded multi-center Phase 1 clinical trial of CG0070 to evaluate escalating multiple-dose regimens of CG0070 and to include up to 45 additional patients who have failed previous therapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the current standard therapy for recurrent bladder cancer. The expansion of the trial from single-dose to multiple-dose regimens was prompted by data reported for the single-dose trial at the May 2006 meeting of the American Urological Association including a complete anti-tumor response as follow-up cystoscopy at approximately three months in three of the nine patients evaluable to date. The duration of the complete responses after just a single administration of CG0070 were 6, 9, and 3+ months respectively. Treatment was generally tolerable and the majority of treatment-related side effects were local bladder toxicities.
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