EXCLUSIVE: Ziopharm CEO Says Focus On Genetic Programming Sets Company Apart From Other T Cell Researchers

• ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. ZIOP CEO Dr. Laurence Cooper believes that the company’s cell programming languages set it apart from other cancer researchers.
• The company’s Sleeping Beauty platform allows for T cell modification without the use of a viral intermediary.
• Cooper feels that these types of flexible treatment tools have far greater potential in the fight against cancer than single products developed to treat particular conditions.

Benzinga recently had the chance to speak with Dr. Laurence Cooper, CEO of Ziopharm Oncology, about the projects and products that Ziopharm is developing. Cooper discussed the company’s latest data on its Sleeping Beauty platform, which Ziopharm project is most exciting and what shareholders should expect in 2016.

Sleeping Beauty data
Earlier this month, Ziopharm presented exciting data on its Sleeping Beauty platform at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. Benzinga asked Cooper about the significance of the data and of the Sleeping Beauty program.

“The question is, why is it that healthy patients get cancer when they have perfectly-functioning immune systems? And the reason is that the programming language, sort of the architecture that your T cells use, has failed you,” he explained.

Whereas other companies use viruses to attempt to “reboot” these T cells, Ziopharm’s platforms allow for direct modification of T cells without the use of a viral intermediary, a process that potentially saves critical time and money.

“Sleeping Beauty is a programming language that you can use to essentially trick the T cells into becoming these killer cells that can recognize tumor cells, and we were able to show that biology at ASH this year” Cooper told Benzinga.

Most exciting project
Ziopharm has a long list of products and technologies that are currently under development, but Benzinga asked Cooper which project has the biggest long-term potential.

“These types of programming languages, like the Sleeping Beauty system and the RheoSwitch system that we have for turning genes on and off, those programming languages can be used across the whole spectrum of immuno-oncology products,” he explained.

He added that one of the hallmarks of cancer is its ability to adapt and resist treatment and that flexible treatment options provided by Sleeping Beauty can be more useful in the broad fight against cancer than a single product developed to treat a single condition.
 

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What’s ahead in 2016?
Finally, Benzinga asked what ZIOPHARM shareholders have to look forward to in 2016.

“We will have exciting data at ASCO around the viral program, and that will come out mid-year,” Cooper revealed.

He also added that shareholders can look for additional updates on the company’s portfolio of cell-based therapies throughout the year.

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.