By Rahul Shetty, Project Management & BD Associate, LSN
In oncology, one of the most persistent challenges is not a lack of therapeutic innovation, but a fundamental biological limitation: many tumors remain invisible to the immune system. While immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors have transformed treatment paradigms, a significant proportion of cancers, often referred to as “cold” tumors, fail to respond because they simply are not recognized as threats.
Oncovita, a France-based biotechnology company, is addressing this challenge with a novel approach rooted in engineered measles virotherapy. By leveraging the natural biology of the measles vaccine virus, the company aims to expose tumors to immune attack, effectively converting immunologically silent cancers into targets the body can detect and destroy.
This approach is particularly relevant in pleural mesothelioma, one of the deadliest solid tumors, where survival is often measured in months and treatment options remain extremely limited. Its immunologically silent nature makes it largely invisible to immune surveillance and resistant to existing immunotherapies, leaving patients with few effective options.
At the core of Oncovita’s platform is MVdeltaC, an engineered measles vaccine virus designed for intratumoral administration. Many tumors, including mesothelioma, overexpress CD46 – the receptor used by the measles virus to enter cells, providing a natural mechanism for selective targeting. Once inside the tumor, MVdeltaC triggers immunogenic tumor cell death and immune activation by releasing danger signals and tumor antigens, ultimately priming T cells to recognize and attack cancer. In doing so, it converts “cold” tumors into “hot” ones, enabling both local and systemic immune responses.
The use of measles vaccine as a therapeutic backbone offers several advantages. The live attenuated vaccine has been administered to more than four billion people worldwide, establishing a strong safety profile. It replicates in the cytoplasm without integrating into host DNA and is known to stimulate both innate and adaptive immunity, making it well suited for cancer immunotherapy.
Evidence supporting this approach includes a documented remission in a patient with triple-negative breast cancer treated with a measles-based therapy, along with preclinical data showing complete tumor regressions, long-term survival, and systemic immune activation across multiple aggressive tumor models. MVdeltaC has also demonstrated strong potential in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, further expanding its therapeutic relevance.
Oncovita is advancing MVdeltaC with an initial focus on pleural mesothelioma, supported by FDA & EMA Orphan Drug Designation and a clear regulatory pathway. From there, the company plans to expand into triple-negative breast cancer and additional solid tumors, using a stepwise strategy that builds early clinical validation before scaling into larger markets. This stepwise approach allows the company to generate early clinical proof-of-concept in a high-need population before expanding into broader oncology indications. With approximately 9,000 eligible patients annually across the U.S., Europe, and Japan in its initial indications and a significantly larger addressable market across solid tumors, the long-term opportunity is substantial.
Oncovita’s progress is supported by a multidisciplinary team with expertise spanning virology, immunotherapy, and clinical oncology. The company collaborates with leading institutions and key opinion leaders, including experts from Institut Gustave Roussy and MD Anderson Cancer Center, reinforcing the scientific and clinical foundation of its program.
As immunotherapy continues to evolve, enabling the immune system to recognize cancer may be just as important as enhancing its response. Oncovita’s measles-based virotherapy represents a compelling approach to solving this challenge, offering the potential to expand immunotherapy to patients who currently have limited treatment options.
Learn More & Connect
To learn more about Oncovita, visit: https://www.oncovita.fr/
To connect directly with CEO Stephane Altaba, reach out here: stephane.altaba@oncovita.fr
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