Viralytics is an Australian Stock Exchange listed company developing a portfolio of Oncolytic viruses that have the potential not only to provide a more effective treatment of a range of cancers, but also a substantial improvement in patients quality of life. Viralytics lead product is CAVATAK^TM, a Coxsackie A21 virus that forms part of the common cold family of viruses.

CAVATAK™, is a naturally occurring, genetically unaltered Coxsackievirus A21. As a cancer therapy CAVATAK™ has the potential to directly target, infect, multiply within and subsequently destroy a wide range of primary and metastasized cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells intact. It works by seeking out and attaching itself to a protein that is highly expressed on cancer cells – (ICAM-1 protein). Once attached to this protein the virus is then able to insert itself into the cancer cell, replicate and literally burst the cancer cell apart. Thousands of progeny then spread and replicate this cycle of destruction. Once the cancer cells have been burst, tumour proteins are released into the blood which activates the body’s own immune system response, identifying the tumour as foreign which enables the bodies own defences to initiate.

EVATAK™ is an ECHOvirus (ECHO is an acronym for 'enteric cytopathic human orphan'). Orphan was used to describe the virus as it is not linked to any human disease, and hence as oncolytic virotherapy is not expected to result in side effects of any significance. EVATAK™, which binds specifically to the integrin α2β1 (alpha 2 beta 1) receptor on a range of cancer cells, has a very similar mode of action to CAVATAK™.

The many potential, anticipated advantages of Viralytics CAVATAK™ and EVATAK™ over current chemo and radiotherapy treatments include:

·        The potential low toxicity and greatly increased quality of life;

·        Synergies with existing Cancer Therapies - there is clinical evidence that oncolytic virotherapy, used in combination with existing products increases the effectiveness of the treatment regime;

·        Genetically unaltered virus;

·        Mechanism of action is targeted to external receptors on cancer cells;

·        Small size (25nm) enables CAVATAK™ to disseminate more widely in the body;

·        Fast replication cycle (6 hours compared with 48 hours for some competing virotherapeutics) of CAVATAK™ and EVATAK™ leads to a greater dose generated.