Oxis International, Inc. (OTCQB: OXIS and EURONEXT PARIS OXI.PA), through its wholly owned subsidiary Oxis Biotech, Inc., is engaged in the development of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. Oxis' lead drug candidate, OXS-2175, is a small molecule therapeutic candidate targeting the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. In in vitro and in vivo models of TNBC, OXS-2175 demonstrated the ability to inhibit metastasis. Oxis' lead drug candidate, OXS-4235, also a small molecule therapeutic candidate, targets the treatment of multiple myeloma and associated osteolytic lesions. In in vitro and in vivo models of multiple myeloma and osteoporosis, OXS-4235 demonstrated the ability to kill multiple myeloma cells, and decrease osteolytic lesions in bone.
Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that forms in white blood cells, and affects about 26,850 people annually in the USA causing about 11,240 deaths per year. Multiple myeloma causes cancer cells to accumulate in the bone marrow, where they crowd out healthy blood cells. Multiple myeloma is also characterized by destructive lytic bone lesions (rounded, punched-out areas of bone), diffuse osteoporosis, bone pain, and the production of abnormal proteins which accumulate in the urine. Anemia is also present in most multiple myeloma patients at the time of diagnosis and during follow-up. Anemia in multiple myeloma is multifactorial, and is secondary to bone marrow replacement by malignant plasma cells, chronic inflammation, relative erythropoietin deficiency, and vitamin deficiency. Plasma cell leukemia, a condition in which plasma cells comprise greater than 20% of peripheral leukocytes, is typically a terminal stage of multiple myeloma and is associated with short survival.
According to the American Cancer Society there were approximately 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer last year in the USA and 40,290 deaths from breast cancer during the same period. Women represent 99% of all breast cancer patients. Breast cancer is treated by various combinations of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. TNBC is a type of breast cancer characterized by breast cancer cells that do not express estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, or large amounts of HER2/neu protein. Approximately 10% - 20% percent of invasive breast cancers are diagnosed as triple-negative breast cancers. TNBC is more likely to affect younger people, African Americans or Hispanics, and those with a BRCA1 gene mutation. TNBC is insensitive to many of the most effective therapies available for the treatment of breast cancer including the HER2-directed therapy Herceptin® (trastuzumab), and endocrine therapies such as tamoxifen or the aromatase inhibitors. The relapse and survival rates of TNBC patients are shorter than for patients with other types of breast cancer. There is no current or pending drug therapy available for the treatment of TNBC.
