Oncolytics Biotech Inc.

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. focuses on the discovery and development of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of a wide variety of human cancers. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the Company was formed in 1998 to explore the oncolytic capability of the reovirus, a virus that preferentially replicates in cells with an activated Ras pathway, one of the most common family of genetic defects leading to cancer.
THE TECHNOLOGY

The Company's technologies are based on discoveries made in the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary. Dr. Matt Coffey, Vice President Product Development for the company was and continues to be instrumental in the conducting the research and ongoing development of this technology.

THE PRODUCT

The Company's products are being developed utilizing the reovirus for treatment of cancers in humans. The reovirus has been demonstrated to replicate specifically in tumor cells bearing an activated Ras pathway. Activating mutations of Ras and mutations along the("activated") Ras pathway occur in approximately 65% of all tumors. The functionality of the product is based upon the finding that tumors bearing an activated Ras pathway are deficient in their ability to activate an anti-viral response mediated by the host cellular protein, PKR. Since PKR is responsible for preventing reovirus replication, tumor cells lacking the activity of PKR are susceptible to reovirus infections. As normal cells do not possess Ras activations, these cells are able to thwart reovirus infections by the activity of PKR. In a tumor cell with an activated Ras pathway, reovirus is able to freely replicate and hence kill the host tumor cell. The result of this replication is viruses that are then free to infect surrounding cancer cells. This cycle of infection, replication and cell death is believed to be repeated until there are no longer any tumor cells carrying an activated Ras pathway available.

THE MARKET

Human application
Approx. 1.3 million North Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2002 and in the same year more than half million are expected to die of cancer. In the United States, cancer accounts for 25% of all deaths, second only to cardiovascular disease, and the relative lifetime risk of a male developing cancer is 1 in 2, while for women, this risk is 1 in 3.

The costs of this disease are also significant. In the United States, the National Institute of Health estimates that the overall annual costs for cancer are $107 billion, of which $37 billion can be attributed to direct

Website:

http://www.oncolyticsbiotech.com

Address:

210, 1167 Kensington Crescent
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1X7