 CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 27, 2021 GLOBE NEWSWIRE -- Oncorus, Inc. Nasdaq: ONCR, a viral immunotherapies company focused on driving innovation to transform outcomes for cancer patients, today announced the nomination of its first Synthetic viral RNA vRNA immunotherapy clinical candidates, ONCR-021 and ONCR-788. Oncorus pioneering intravenous IV-administered approach involves encapsulating the genomes of RNA viruses known to kill cancer cells i.e., oncolytic viruses, or OVs in a lipid nanoparticle or LNP, creating a Synthetic vRNA immunotherapy. ONCR-021 encodes an optimized strain of Coxsackievirus A21 CVA21, and ONCR-788 encodes for a modified version of the Seneca Valley Virus SVV. Both CVA21 and SVV have extensive clinical experience and favorable safety profiles when administered IV. Oncorus novel Synthetic vRNA approach holds the potential for IV-administration and avoids the challenge of neutralizing antibodies seen in previous approaches with IV-administered OVs. Oncorus plans to investigate its novel Synthetic vRNA immunotherapies in multiple histologies including cancers of the lung both as monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors and other cancer treatments. 