Recurrence is the rule, not the exception
Intermediate- and high-risk groups recur frequently - often within a year of treatment.
Pipeline
Overview
Lead programme in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).
HSV5-15 is being developed initially for NMIBC - a multi-billion-dollar market with significant unmet need - with active discovery programmes in prostate, breast, and sarcoma.
Programmes
Pipeline at a glance.
One lead asset advancing through preclinical development, plus a discovery engine extending the platform into additional solid tumours.
| Programme | Indication | Discovery | Preclinical | IND-enabling | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSV5-15Lead | Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) | ||||||
| Platform | Prostate cancer | ||||||
| Platform | Breast cancer | ||||||
| Platform | Sarcoma | ||||||
Bar indicates the most advanced stage reached for each programme.
Lead indication
Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Common, recurrent, and expensive to manage - with few treatment options for high-risk patients.
614k+
people diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2022
220k+
deaths from bladder cancer in 2022
73 yrs
median age at diagnosis · 74% over 65
15-61%
of high-risk patients recur within 1 year
US$2.7B
NMIBC market size in 2023
US$10.9B
projected NMIBC market by 2031
The patient journey today
From symptoms to ongoing treatment - and recurrence.
The current standard of care is BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) immunotherapy. It works for many - but it is toxic, and not all patients respond.
Step 1
Symptoms
Patient presents to primary care with haematuria, urinary frequency, or pelvic pain.
Step 2
Testing
Work-up includes cystoscopy, urine cytology, and imaging (CT, MRI). Risk stratified.
Step 3
Surgical procedure
Transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT), followed by staging and grading.
Step 4
Ongoing treatment
Intravesical BCG, perioperative chemo, or escalation (cystectomy, pembrolizumab, nadofaragene).
Unmet need
BCG isn't enough. Many patients recur - and CIS predicts the worst.
Carcinoma in situ (CIS) is a localised, high-grade, aggressive form of early bladder cancer - and the hallmark of progressive, invasive disease. Most existing treatments fail to eliminate it.
BCG: effective for some, toxic for most
Current standard of care has limited utility and high toxicity - most patients unable to complete the full course and maintenance of BCG.
CIS resists most treatments
Resolving CIS is critical to successful long-term treatment - yet most therapies fail to eliminate it.
Our solution
HSV5-15 - designed for the unique biology of NMIBC.
Intravesical HSV5-15 viral therapy destroys residual tumour and eliminates CIS, while inducing anti-tumour immunity in the bladder lining to protect against future recurrence.
- Delay recurrence
- Stop recurrence
- Stop progression to muscle-invasive disease
- Delay or prevent cystectomy
- Delay or prevent metastatic disease