. please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . january 2014 oncolytics biotech inc. type public traded as tsx onc otcqx oncyf industry biopharmaceutical founded 1998 calgary alberta canada headquarters calgary alberta canada key people brad thompson ph.d. president and chief executive officer ; kirk look chief financial officer ; matt coffey ph.d. chief operating officer ; george gill m.d. senior vice president clinical & regulatory affairs ; alan tuckman m.d. m.b.a. chief medical officer ; alan warrander ph.d. senior vice president global licensing & business development products reolysin a potential therapeutic for human cancers website www.oncolyticsbiotech.com oncolytics biotech inc. is a canadian company headquartered in calgary alberta that focuses on the development of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of human cancers . the product reolysin harnesses the oncolytic capabilities of naturally occurring reovirus respiratory enteric orphan virus which has been shown to replicate specifically in cells with an activated ras pathway . ras pathway mutations are found in approximately two thirds of all tumours including most metastatic disease which makes reolysin a potential therapeutic for cancer . contents 1 history 2 products 3 research and development collaborations 4 reolysin clinical progress 5 references 6 external links history edit oncolytics biotech inc. was founded in calgary in 1998 in response to discoveries made on the oncolytic potential of reovirus made at the university of calgary during the 1990s . 1 2 3 from 1999 to 2000 the company transitioned from private to public ownership . in june 2000 it began trading on the toronto stock exchange tse and began trading on the nasdaq in 2001 . since its inception oncolytics biotech inc. has worked to take reolysin its proprietary formulation of human reovirus through the development and regulatory requirements necessary to develop it as a potential cancer therapeutic . in 2000 oncolytics biotech inc. received permission to conduct its first phase i clinical trial which was designed to test the safety of reolysin in human patients . the positive results 4 of this first study led to the rapid and continuous expansion of oncolytics clinical trial program with phase ii studies beginning in canada in 2001 u.s. and subsequent cross border studies beginning in 2002 and enrollment in a multi site phase iii trial beginning in 2010 . 5 the company was issued its first canadian patent in august 2000 and currently holds more than 200 patents worldwide including 38 u.s. and 11 canadian patents . products edit reolysin was developed from pre clinical research done at the university of calgary 2 3 matt coffey and jim strong led this research and as oncolytics chief operating officer coffey continues to play a pivotal role in the product s development . citation needed reolysin is a proprietary formulation of human reovirus which is naturally found in mammalian respiratory and bowel systems . 6 most people have been exposed to reovirus by adulthood but the infection does not typically produce symptoms . 7 reovirus was noted to be a potential cancer therapeutic when early studies suggested it reproduces well in certain cancer cell lines . 8 9 it has since been shown to replicate specifically in cells that have an activated ras pathway with very little effect in cells that do not have active ras pathways . 10 activating mutations of the ras protein and upstream elements of the ras protein may play a role in more than two thirds of all human cancers including most metastatic disease which suggests that reolysin may be an effective therapeutic for many ras activated tumor types and potentially for some cell proliferative disorders . 11 12 13 research and development collaborations edit oncolytics biotech inc. has collaborative agreements with the national cancer institute 14 the university of leeds 15 and the cancer therapy & research centre at the university of texas health science center in san antonio 16 to conduct multiple phase i ii and phase ii trials in the united states and united kingdom . there are multiple active trials 17 in the company s clinical program and these ongoing studies along with the ones oncolytics has successfully completed are producing interim and final data that indicate positive clinical responses in multiple types of primary and metastatic disease . 18 19 20 21 22 23 on september 2 2010 the company announced that the gynecologic oncology group gog would be pursuing a new phase ii study of reolysin in combination with weekly paclitaxel in patients with persistent or recurrent ovarian fallopian or primary peritoneal cancer . 14 the national cancer institute nci in the united states has approved and will sponsor the study . reolysin clinical progress edit reolysin has completed phase i and ii clinical trials across a variety of cancer types . the company is conducting a phase iii trial examining reolysin in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with platinum refractory head and neck cancers . the phase iii trial is being conducted in multiple jurisdictions on october 2 2009 the company announced that it had reached an agreement with the u.s. food and drug administration fda regarding the study design making oncolytics one of the first companies to reach an agreement with the fda on a phase iii trial design for an intravenously administered oncolytic virus under the special protocol assessment spa process 24 on february 16 2010 the company announced that it has received a letter of approval to conduct the trial from the u.k. medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency mhra 25 on june 1 2010 the company announced that it had received approval to conduct the trial from the belgian federal agency for medicines and health products famhp 26 on july 19 2010 the company announced that it had received a no objection letter to conduct the trial from health canada 27 the company is conducting phase ii trials in a range of indications including squamous cell carcinoma of the lung non small cell lung cancer pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer . the company is also conducting a phase i trial in colorectal cancer . references edit waddell nick . cantech letter interviews brad thompson president and ceo of oncolytics biotech . http www.cantechletter.com . cantech communications . retrieved 24 august 2014 . external link in website help a b strong je ; tang d ; lee pw 1993 . evidence that the epidermal growth factor receptor on host cells confers reovirus infection efficiency . virology . 197 1 405 11 . doi 10.1006 viro .1993.1602 . pmid 8212574 . a b coffey mc ; strong je ; forsyth pa ; lee pw 1998 . reovirus therapy of tumors with activated ras pathway . science . 282 5392 1332 4 . doi 10.1126 science .282.5392.1332 . pmid 9812900 . thirukkumaran cm ; nodwell mj ; hirasawa k ; shi zq ; diaz r ; luider j ; johnston rn ; forsyth pa ; et 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