Ocean Biomedical, Inc. announced that its joint venture partner, Virion Therapeutics, LLC, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell-based immunotherapies, recently presented highly compelling preclinical oncology data. Virion Therapeutics is developing novel immunotherapies that utilize proprietary genetically encoded checkpoint modifiers (CPMs) to enhance and broaden CD8(+) T cells responses. gD BTLA-HVEM Blockade Enhances and Broadens T Cell Activation Preclinical studies using CPMs have shown consistent and extraordinary immune responses and clinical activity in different diseases.

In addition to the recently presented oncology data, Virion has recently begun enrolling their Phase 1b clinical trial for persons with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV): ON-020000 for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV): VRON-0300 is being developed with the goal of providing a functional cure for a disease that affects over 300 million patients worldwide. It has been designed to help overcome a key cause of chronic HBV, immune exhaustion, by stimulating a patient's own immune response to help control the infection. According to Precedence Research, functional cure for chronic HBV represents an estimated market opportunity of $6.5B+ by 2032.

In addition to the recent major clinical and scientific milestones achieved through its Joint Venture partner, Ocean continues to advance immunotherapies for lung, brain, and other cancers by targeting chitinase 3-like-1 expression (CHi3L1) and continues to progress additional development programs in fibrosis and for the treatment, and prevention, ofmalaria.