Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Announces Reovirus Research to be Presented at AACR Annual Meeting

CALGARY, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (“Oncolytics”) (TSX:ONC) (NASDAQ:ONCY) announced today that abstracts of preclinical research on reovirus (REOLYSIN®) are available on the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) website at http://www.aacr.org. The research is scheduled to be presented at the 2012 AACR Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, which takes place from March 31 to April 4, 2012.

“We are delighted to see that the research community has been embracing preclinical research utilizing reovirus,” said Dr. Matt Coffey, Chief Operating Officer of Oncolytics.  “This research helps us to continue to refine our understanding of REOLYSIN’s mechanism of action, its suitability for combination with other treatment modalities and its potential for application to a growing range of potential cancer indications.”

The first abstract, entitled “Reovirus (REOLYSIN) as a potential therapy for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors,” covers preclinical work malignant in peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST), a rare form of soft tissue sarcoma. The results show that MPNST-derived cell lines including sporadic MPNST without active Ras were efficiently transduced, promoted virus replication and were killed by the oncolytic reovirus. The poster is scheduled to be presented on Monday, April 2, 2012.

The second abstract, entitled “REOLYSIN: A novel reovirus-based agent that induces endoplasmic reticular stress in RAS-activated pancreatic cancer,” covers preclinical work done to better understand the mechanisms associated with the synergies in this co-treatment approach. The results demonstrate that the abnormal protein accumulation induced by REOLYSIN and bortezomib promotes heightened ER stress and apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells.  The poster is scheduled to be presented on Monday, April 2, 2012.

The third abstract, entitled “Oncolytic reovirus synergizes with bortezomib and dexamethasone in overcoming therapy resistance of multiple myeloma,” covers preclinical work done in therapy resistant multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines. The investigators noted that highly synergistic cytotoxicity was observed with reovirus and bortezomib in both reovirus and drug resistant cell lines OPM2 and KMS-11 at all drug combination ratios. Dexamethasone and reovirus treatment induced synergy in OPM2 cells. The poster is scheduled to be presented on Tuesday, April 3, 2012.

The fourth abstract, entitled “Serum regulates reovirus-mediated cytopathy in K-Ras activated colorectal cancer and intestinal epithelial cell lines,” covers the use of isogenic human-derived colorectal cancer cell lines that differ only by the presence of mutant Kras and normal rat intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) with inducible Kras to evaluate whether the presence of oncogenic Kras alters the sensitivity of colon cancer cells to reovirus.  The investigators demonstrated that the activity of reovirus was observed in all cell lines studied. Reduction in cell variability was greater in Kras-mutant HCT116 compared to WT Hke3 cells. Consistently, induction of Kras in IEC cells increased the potency of reovirus. The poster is scheduled to be presented on Tuesday, April 3, 2012.

The fifth abstract, entitled “Mammalian orthoreovirus downregulates HIF-1a in hypoxic prostate tumor cells via RACK1-mediated proteasomal degradation and translational inhibition,” was added as a late-breaking abstract. The poster is scheduled to be presented on Tuesday April 3, 2012.

About Oncolytics Biotech Inc.

Oncolytics is a Calgary-based biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics. Oncolytics’ clinical program includes a variety of human trials including a Phase III trial in head and neck cancers using REOLYSIN, its proprietary formulation of the human reovirus. For further information about Oncolytics, please visit: http://www.oncolyticsbiotech.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements, including the implication of the abstracts and materials presented on the AACR website and at this meeting with respect to REOLYSIN, and the Company’s belief as to the potential of REOLYSIN as a cancer therapeutic, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the availability of funds and resources to pursue research and development projects, the efficacy of REOLYSIN as a cancer treatment, the tolerability of REOLYSIN outside a controlled test, the success and timely completion of clinical studies and trials, the Company’s ability to successfully commercialize REOLYSIN, uncertainties related to the research and development of pharmaceuticals and uncertainties related to the regulatory process. Investors should consult the Company’s quarterly and annual filings with the Canadian and U.S. securities commissions for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

SOURCE Oncolytics Biotech Inc.

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Posted: March 2012

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Monsanto tests drought-tolerant biotech corn

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Seed giant Monsanto Co. plans large-scale tests this year of the first government-approved biotech crop developed to deal with drought.

The new corn is being introduced as much of the U.S. remains abnormally dry and areas in the South and Southwest still face severe drought. Monsanto says the corn won’t be a panacea for drought-stricken farmers but when combined with improved agricultural practices could help those in areas like the western Great Plains, where production without irrigation can be half as much as the national average.

The St. Louis-based company plans on-farm trials from South Dakota to Texas to quantify how well the corn works before releasing it commercially next year. Farmers in areas like western Kansas, which gets about half of the annual rainfall enjoyed by the eastern half of the state, are eager for the results.

“We’re not in a very wet country here,” said Harvey Heier, who has a farm near Grainfield, Kan. “It would be a big plus … if it works.”

Monsanto developed the corn with a gene taken from a bacterium commonly found in soil and vegetation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture decided against regulating it late last year, essentially approving it for commercial release. The decision is notable because it marks the first time USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has approved a product that has been genetically engineered to resist drought, rather than a pest or herbicide.

The agency says the corn is safe. Its analysis concluded the corn wasn’t likely to harm the environment, people or animals and wouldn’t boost corn production at the expense of grasslands and forest, said Michael Gregoire, deputy administrator of APHIS’s Biotechnology Regulatory Services.

Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Food and Environment Program, said there’s no reason to think the corn might be unsafe, though he and Bill Freese at the Center for Food Safety say they wish there were more stringent testing and regulation of biotech crops. USDA said last November that it plans to speed up regulatory reviews of biotech crops even more by streamlining the process, cutting in half the average approval time of three years. New guidelines could be published as early as this month.

Officials in the corn and ethanol industries say drought-tolerant corn could help meet the dramatic increase in demand for the grain used to make both food and fuel. Public consumption of corn-based products has more than doubled in the past 30 years, while the ethanol industry’s demand for corn has doubled in the past five years, according to the USDA and Renewable Fuels Association.

It’s not clear whether Monsanto’s corn will actually boost production. The APHIS analysis prepared by Gregoire says field trial results showing more corn grown per acre under dry conditions aren’t statistically significant but suggest the corn would do well in drought.

But the analysis also notes some conventionally bred varieties have drought tolerance and “to some extent, all U.S. corn varieties have been becoming more drought resistant over time.”

Companies such as Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, have introduced drought-tolerant corn developed through conventional and molecular breeding. No company but Monsanto has petitioned APHIS for approval of a genetically engineered drought-tolerant trait, spokesman R. Andre Bell said.

While Monsanto touts the variety developed with German chemical company BASF as “the industry’s first biotech drought solution,” it’s also been careful to limit expectations. The corn, which is being marketed under the name DroughtGard, is aimed at areas of the U.S. suffering moderate drought and is not currently part of the company’s effort to help bring drought-tolerant corn to parched areas of Africa.

“This isn’t a product that we’re expecting to grow in the desert,” Monsanto spokeswoman Danielle Stuart said. “You still need water and nutrients.”

Mark Edge, Monsanto’s drought marketing specialist, cautioned that while field trials were promising, they were limited. This year’s tests, involving as many as 250 growers in six states, should provide better information about where and how well it works, he said.

“We don’t see this as an end; this is a beginning to understanding how we can use the tools of biotechnology to interact in this complex arena of yield and (drought) stress,” Edge said. “We expect that our pipeline will have many more (products) that we bring forward.”

Gurian-Sherman predicted the corn will be “a Band-Aid, not a cure,” providing “modest” benefit on only about one-fifth of the U.S. corn acres that are in areas of frequent drought.

“I don’t think it’s useless technology … (but) we shouldn’t have an expectation that this technology is going to solve our drought problems in the foreseeable future — at least severe droughts,” he said.

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