MediGene Drug Using Herpes Virus to Fight Cancer Shows Promise

A new type of cancer therapy that uses a form of the herpes virus killed tumor cells in early tests in humans.

One patient given the drug developed by German biotechnology company MediGene AG after his colon cancer had spread to the liver and lungs experienced significant tumor reduction and survived for a year after treatment, according to preliminary results of a trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Lugano, Switzerland, today.

``The results are really quite encouraging at this early stage,'' said Axel Mescheder, head of research and development at the Martinsried, Germany-based company, in a statement. The company is testing the drug in patients with colon cancer who haven't responded to chemotherapy and whose disease has spread to the liver.

Scientists at the company engineered the virus to multiply in cancer cells, killing them in the process, while sparing healthy tissue. Previous studies in the test tube and in animals have shown the drug, known as NV1020, is effective at killing colon and liver cancers.

``It doesn't replicate in normal, healthy cells, so our hope is that it will help fight cancers without causing side effects in the rest of the body,'' Mescheder said. ``We are hoping to extend overall survival.''

He presented early safety and efficacy results of the study, the first of three sets of tests needed for regulatory approval, as well as the case report at a poster session at the meeting.

Liver Masses

The case report showed that the patient's cancer had spread to 10 different places in the liver and to four sites on the lungs. Doctors injected the virus treatment once a week for four weeks directly into his bloodstream. The treatment was followed by two cycles of chemotherapy.

Six months after therapy, scans showed the liver masses had almost disappeared. The patient survived for 12 months after treatment. Several patients in the trial showed tumor regression, Mescheder said.

Almost 40 percent of colon cancer patients die from metastatic disease, where malignancies have spread to other organs, mainly the liver.

source : www.bloomberg.com