Electroporation Device Helps Kill Cancer Cells

A novel device causes pores in the membrane of cancer cells to open, thus significantly increasing the uptake of anticancer agents.

The OncoSec electroporation device is intended for use during chemotherapy and immunotherapy to open pores within the membranes of target cancer cells, making them more susceptible to injected compounds, thus improving therapy effectiveness and reducing systemic toxicity. The electroporation platform consists of a generator that creates a pulsed electric field that temporarily increases the porosity of cell membranes within the treatment field. A hand-held applicator then supplies a series of short-duration electrical pulses of specific voltage through a series of needles.


Together, the action of the generator and applicator creates a rotating array of pulses that uniformly subject the targeted cell membranes to electroporation. The electric fields generated are inert, and dissipate once the device is stopped, reducing concerns about residual long-term effects. Results from the phase I study have demonstrated that only one week of treatment could result in clinical benefit for late-stage cancer patients. The OncoSec electroporation device is a product of OncoSec Medical System (OMS; San Diego, CA, USA), and has received the European Community CE marking of approval.

“We strongly believe in the clinical relevance of our therapeutic approach,” said Said Punit Dhillon, president and CEO of OncoSec. “Clinical experience […] supports the uniqueness of OMS ElectroChemotherapy in its ability to achieve selective destruction of cancerous tumors while sparing healthy normal tissue including highly vascularized and innervated surrounding structures, providing physicians with an important flexible treatment alternative.”

The electroporation device currently works with two anticancer therapies: ImmunoPulse, which delivers instructions to the cell to deliver a DNA-based cytokine coded for the immune stimulating agent interleukin-12 (DNA IL-12), which induces a cytokine cascade with antiangiogenic effects; and NeoPulse, which delivers bleomycin, an approved anticancer drug that specifically targets and destroys cancer cells.

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OncoSec Medical System