Genelux | Therapy: A New Approach

Therapy

Vaccinia virus

Vaccinia virus has several key attributes that make it capable of achieving tumor regression and eradication. Scientists at Genelux have modified this virus to increase its safety, tumor selectivity and anti-tumor activity and imaging capabilities.

Vaccinia virus is known as one of the most successful medical products in history due to its role as the vaccine against smallpox. It was administered to millions of people with well-documented safety before smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980. The medical community’s extensive experience with vaccinia virus is a tremendous asset for scientists developing new clinical uses for the virus and clinicians administering investigational treatments.

Safety

The attenuated vaccinia virus is a genetically stable DNA virus which has no known host in nature. In clinical use, there is limited to no expectation of toxicity.

Unlike many oncolytic viruses, vaccinia is able to travel through the bloodstream to distant tumors and metastases. It is also able to replicate in the cytoplasm of a host cell, rather than entering the host cell’s nucleus. This virtually eliminates the risk of genomic integration. The strain of vaccinia virus developed by Genelux is also safer than other vaccinia strains because it shows no natural tropism (or attraction) to any particular tissues or organs.

Suitability

Vaccinia’s ability to seek, enter and replicate preferentially inside a wide variety of tumors and metastases make it an ideal candidate for cancer therapy. Vaccinia can replicate more rapidly and more efficiently inside a tumor than most viruses. Unlike many therapeutic agents, it is well-suited to navigating (and surviving in) the complex network of live and partially necrotic tissues inside the tumor. In addition, the large genome and large insertion carrying capacity of the virus give scientists a wide range of opportunities for insertion of therapeutic transgenes.

Efficacy

In preclinical tests, vaccinia has shown remarkable ability to seek, colonize and replicate selectively in tumors. This process has led to the lysis (killing) of tumor cells and, ultimately, the eradication of whole solid tumors. Tumor eradication is also aided by innate and adaptive immune responses from outside the tumor.