Benzinga | Nov 11, 2021 02:22PM EST

Oncorus, Gaeta Therapeutics Ink Cancer Candidate Licensing Agreement

* Oncorus Inc (NASDAQ:ONCR) has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Gaeta Therapeutics Ltd, related to the use of locally delivered Interleukin-12 (IL-12) via oncolytic viral expression in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

* IL-12 is one of five immunomodulatory payloads in Oncorus' lead viral immunotherapy product candidate, ONCR-177.

* Oncorus is enrolling patients in a Phase 1 trial to evaluate ONCR-177 alone and combined with Merck & Co Inc's (NYSE:MRK) Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced or refractory cutaneous, subcutaneous or metastatic nodal or with liver metastases of solid tumors.

* Gaeta will receive an upfront payment of $0.2 million and is eligible to receive up to $7.5 million in milestone payments on a product-by-product and indication-by-indication basis.

* Being developed for multiple solid tumor indications, ONCR-177 is an intratumorally administered oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)-based viral immunotherapy engineered to induce immunogenic cancer cell death.

* Price Action: ONCR shares traded lower by 0.18% at $10.80 on the last check Thursday.