CALGARY, Canada I January 28, 2013 I Oncolytics Biotech Inc. ("Oncolytics") (TSX:ONC, NASDAQ:ONCY) today announced a poster presentation covering positive preliminary results from a Phase I study examining the intravenous administration of REOLYSIN in combination with FOLFIRI in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (REO 022). The results were presented at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, CA, which took place from January 24-26, 2013.

The poster presentation, titled: "A Multicenter Phase I Study of Intravenous Administration of REOLYSIN in combination with Irinotecan/Fluorouracil/Leucovorin (FOLFIRI) in Patients (pts) with Oxaliplatin-Refractory/Intolerant KRAS-Mutant Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (mCRC)," was authored by Ocean et al. Twenty-one patients were enrolled in the study, including nine that were FOLFIRI-naïve. Of the 18 patients evaluable for response there was one partial response and nine had stable disease. The combined overall progression free survival (PFS) of FOLFIRI-naïve and FOLFIRI-failed patients was 7.4 months. The authors concluded that the combination of REOLYSIN and FOLFIRI was safe and well tolerated and resulted in disease control in the majority of evaluable patients, including patients that had previously progressed on Irinotecan.

"These results are intriguing, particularly with respect to patients who have failed prior FOLFIRI treatment," said Dr. Brad Thompson , President and CEO of Oncolytics. "This study, in conjunction with an earlier study examining REOLYSIN monotherapy in metastatic colorectal patients (REO 013), formed the basis for our decision to proceed into a randomized study in colorectal cancer (IND 210), which is now enrolling."

The trial was a 21-patient, single arm dose escalation study designed to determine a maximum tolerated dose and dose-limiting toxicities for the combination of REOLYSIN and FOLFIRI. Eligible patients included those with histologically confirmed cancer of the colon or rectum with Kras mutation and measurable disease. They must have progressed on or within 190 after the last dose of an oxaliplatin regimen in the metastatic setting, or be intolerant to oxaliplatin.

About Oncolytics Biotech Inc.
Oncolytics is a Calgary-based biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics. Oncolytics’ clinical program includes a variety of human trials including a Phase III trial in head and neck cancers using REOLYSIN®, its proprietary formulation of the human reovirus. For further information about Oncolytics, please visit: www.oncolyticsbiotech.com.

SOURCE: Oncolytics Biotech