Onyx-015

The Onyx-015 compound was based on the idea of developing a virus programmed to kill only cancer cells, leaving the rest unharmed. It targets cells that do not have a special repair gene known as p53. Onyx-015 must be directly injected into a tumor. It is currently combined with chemotherapy.

Thirty late stage patients with head and neck cancers were given the drug. Of these, a high percent had already failed surgery or radiation. After taking Onyx-015, twenty-five of the experienced a decrease in the size of their tumor. 19 patients had 50% less tumor after the trial period. In 8 cases, the tumors were completely gone. After 6 months, 19 patients showed no re-growth of the tumor.

In a similar study testing Onyx-015, 27 patients with liver metastasis were given the drug (these patients usually die within 6 months). After treatment with high doses of Onyx-015, 11 patients were still alive after two years. Future tests of Onyx are currently underway using many more patients.