Genetic Therapy Starts Phase I/II Trial

Genetic Therapy has begun a Phase I/II multicenter gene therapy trial in 15 patients with recurrent, inoperable glioma who have failed previous therapy.

All patients in the study will receive an intratumoral injection of producer cells containing a retroviral vector coding for Herpes simplex thymidine kinase "a suicide gene" conferring susceptibility to ganciclovir (Syntex' Cytovene). The retrovirus only infects tumor cells, as they are the only ones undergoing division in the brain. The study, the third brain cancer trial undertaken by the firm, is part of Genetic Therapy and Sandoz' HS-tk product development program.