First Patient Enrolled in OncoQuest's Phase 1/2 Study Combining Oregovomab with Hiltonol® in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Third Ongoing Study Examining Oregovomab in Combination with Other Drugs in Ovarian Cancer

EDMONTON, July 26, 2017 /CNW/ - OncoQuest Inc. ("OncoQuest"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of immunotherapeutic products for the treatment of cancer, today announced the enrollment of the first patient in a Company-sponsored Phase 1/2 clinical study to evaluate the use of oregovomab in combination with Hiltonol®, an experimental TLR3 agonist acting as an immune adjuvant, in ovarian cancer patients in the recurrent setting.  This clinical trial is being conducted at Florida Hospital Cancer Institute in Orlando, Florida with Dr. Robert Holloway as Principal Investigator and at Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Virginia, with Dr. William McGuire as the Principal Investigator. The clinical trial is managed and monitored by Veristat, a full service Clinical Research Organization (CRO) in Southborough, Massachusetts.

This is the second Phase 1/2 study evaluating oregovomab in combination with other drugs in the recurrent ovarian cancer setting. In the first trial, which was launched in May 2017 and has accrued 6 patients, oregovomab is being used in combination with nivolumab, a checkpoint inhibitor.

In frontline ovarian cancer, OncoQuest recently presented positive interim results from its randomized, controlled multi-center Phase 2 clinical trial with oregovomab in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel at ASCO, 2017.

"Hiltonol® is an investigational TLR3 agonist that has been found to stimulate both cellular and humoral immune response, and is being tested as an immune adjuvant in a number of oncology studies," said Dr. Madiyalakan, CEO of OncoQuest. "We will evaluate the outcome from this study and our other study using a checkpoint inhibitor combination to identify how best to utilize oregovomab in this important clinical setting" continued Dr. Madiyalakan.

About Oregovomab
Oregovomab is OncoQuest's high affinity monoclonal antibody (Mab B43.13) that is designed to bind to the tumor associated antigen CA125 (also designated MUC16) and initiate a cascade of immune responses against this glycoprotein.  CA125 is expressed in epithelial ovarian cancer on the tumor surface, but is also shed into the circulation. OncoQuest believes that carboplatin paclitaxel based chemotherapy used in front line treatment in a precisely scheduled combination with oregovomab can improve outcomes relative to chemotherapy alone and is currently exploring the role of select immune adjuvants and checkpoint inhibition to assess oregovomab's application in advanced disease settings.  

About OncoQuest
OncoQuest is a subsidiary of Quest PharmaTech Inc. (TSXV-QPT) ("Quest"), and is a private pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of immunotherapies for cancer. OncoQuest's technology platform includes a panel of tumor antigen specific monoclonal immunoglobulins including CA125, MUC1, PSA and Her2/neu; and the application of combinatorial immunotherapy to enhance tumor specific immunity and clinical outcome. OncoQuest's lead product is oregovomab for the treatment of ovarian cancer that is currently undergoing multiple Phase 2 clinical trials. OncoQuest's MUC1 program has already undergone a Phase 1 clinical trial in breast cancer patients, and its development is being led by OncoVent Co. Ltd., OncoQuest's joint venture partner that has licensed the rights of the immunotherapy technologies in the territory of Greater China. OncoQuest's next-generation products are based on immunoglobulin E licensed from UCLA, Stanford University and Advanced Immune Therapeutics, Inc. These antigen-specific monoclonal IgE antibodies are currently in preclinical development.  

Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements.  In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release and the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release based on new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE OncoQuest Inc.

Hany S. Awadalla, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, OncoQuest Inc., Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected], Internet: www.oncoquestinc.com