OncoSec provides update to shareholders, to present at BioFinance 2012

Biopharmaceutical company OncoSec Medical (OTC:ONCS) Tuesday issued a letter to its shareholders reviewing the key developments of the company so far in 2012.

In a financial update, OncoSec said it recently raised $7.75 million through a public offering to continue clinical development programs. The offering was underwritten by Rodman & Renshaw, with Roth Capital Partners acting as an advisor.

The company currently has over $6.5 million in cash reserves to fund operations, which it said should be sufficient to complete current studies.

OncoSec is executing its clinical development plan based on its OMS ElectroImmunotherapy platform for the treatment of rare and deadly skin cancers including metastatic melanoma, Merkel cell carcinoma and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

The company noted that it has initiated and enrolled several patients in a phase II study for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, called OMS-I100.

The study is being led by the University of California in San Francisco, with additional sites at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica and Lakeland Comprehensive Cancer Center in Florida. OncoSec expects to report interim clinical data before year end.

The company has also initiated and enrolled several patients in a phase II study for the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma, called OMS-I110.

The OMS-I110 study is being led by the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, and OncoSec expects to report interim clinical data before year end.

OncoSec said it is aiming to initiate and begin enrolling patients in a phase II study for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), called OMS-I120, by year-end. This study will be led by the University of California and include multiple centers across the US, said the company.

"We are pursuing clinical and regulatory development of our OMS ElectroChemotherapy in the US, Europe and Asia, including the development of new indications for ElectroChemotherapy," said Oncosec president and CEO Punit Dhillon in the letter to shareholders.

"The last several months have demonstrated our ability to create incremental value from our advanced-stage OMS ElectroChemotherapy program for the treatment of primary and recurrent localized solid tumors."

Since the acquisition of a clinical data set of over 400 patients, OncoSec said it has compiled, reviewed, and analyzed the data and presented preliminary results from a phase IV European head and neck cancer trial and phase I/II breast cancer trial.

The preliminary data sets from the completed phase III recurrent head and neck cancer studies carried out in the US are now being analyzed, and the company said it intends to present the data at the 5th International Head and Neck Cancer Conference taking place July 21-25.

"We are defining a regulatory path with the FDA for clinical development of advanced stage skin cancer and other solid tumor indications," Dhillon said.

"In addition, we are advancing a commercialization strategy focused on creating regional partnerships or establishing a global partner to develop the market potential for OMS ElectroChemotherapy in Europe, Asia and other emerging markets."

On the corporate front, OncoSec said it is developing new applications of its OMS ElectroOncology for treating solid tumors and metastatic disease, with the goal of expanding market opportunities and establishing additional patents to maintain its dominance in these areas.

The company noted that its OMS ElectroImmunotherapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and Merkel cell carcinoma was featured in Xconomy, Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry, Manufacturing Chemist, and the San Diego Business Journal.

OncoSec also said that its OMS therapy was featured as a "revolutionary cancer treatment" for Merkel cell carcinoma by a local NBC News affiliate in Seattle, Washington.

"OncoSec sees the initial market for its OMS ElectroImmunotherapy exceeding $500 million in the US alone," Dhillon said.

"Melanoma and other skin cancers are deadly diseases with very limited treatment options (i.e. limited competition). We have a highly focused effort to develop a new generation of immunotherapy products to provide better care to these patients and we are passionate about the progress of our programs."

In other news, OncoSec announced Tuesday it will be presenting at BioFinance 2012 in Toronto on May 30.

BioFinance 2012 is the Canadian forum for some of the most innovative minds in the life sciences industry, with attendance ranging from company CEO's, CFO's and senior executives, institutional and private equity investors from the US and Canada, industry analysts, corporate finance executives and experts from pharmaceutical, agriculture biotech communities in Canada, the US and Europe.

Company presentations will span a range of industries including biologics, medical devices, drug delivery, vaccines, diagnostics, bio-energy, green technologies, bio materials, industrial biotech, and research services.

OncoSec Medical is a biopharmaceutical company developing advanced-stage OMS ElectroOncology therapies to treat solid tumors and metastatic disease. The company said that treatment of various solid cancers using targeted anti-cancer agents has demonstrated selective destruction of cancerous cells while sparing healthy normal tissues during early and late stage clinical trials.