In 1951, a 4-year-old boy with leukemia contracted chickenpox. His liver
and spleen, swollen by the cancer, soon returned to normal, and his
elevated blood cell count fell to that of a healthy child. His doctors
at the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology in San Francisco were
thrilled by his sudden remission, but the blessing was short-lived.
After one month, his leukemia returned and progressed rapidly until the
child's death. [This case sparked interest in using viruses to attack
cancer tumours.] Today, several potential cancer-fighting viruses are in
trials, including two in Phase 3 trials. An engineered form of vaccinia
- the viral agent that helped eradicate smallpox - is being tested
against advanced liver cancer, the third leading cause of cancer deaths
globally. In a recent trial, survival for patients treated with high
doses of the virus, called JX-594, doubled to 14 months from 7, compared
with that of patients treated with low doses. "To see that kind of
response in a randomized trial is simply unheard of," said Tony Reid,
the director of clinical investigation at the Moores Cancer Center of
the University of California, San Diego, who has no financial ties to
the virus's manufacturer. 作者: StephenW 时间: 2012-3-31 11:19
JX-594 is an oncolytic virus that is developed by Jennerex and is designed to target and destroy cancer cells[2][3].JX-594 is a vacciniapoxvirus engineered to selectively replicate in tumor cells that have an activated EGFR/ Ras pathway, but not in normal tissue. The poxvirus delivers a transgene to the cancer cells that kills them by lysis.[4][5]
Initially targeted at liver cancers.
Jennerex 总裁兼首席执行官、医学博士 David H. Kirn 表示:“我们很高兴与李氏大药厂就 JX-594的临床开发和商业化达成这项合作关系。这代表着我们地域性合作战略的拓展。原发性肝癌在亚洲国家发生率很高,大量医疗需求得不到满足。由于 JX-594对原发性肝癌的治疗引导,因此就该产品在亚洲展开合作对 Jennerex 与我们的合作伙伴而言都十分有利--我们与韩国绿十字公司 (Green Cross) 成功的长期合作关系便是一个范例。李氏大药厂是中国实力强大的开发和商业组织,我们期待与李氏大药厂合作,实现 JX-594批准和商业化,从而为癌症患者带来福音的共同目标。”
李氏大药厂首席执行官 Benjamin Li 博士说:“我们很高兴宣布与 Jennerex 就 JX-594达成这项合作关系。迄今为止观察到的临床数据非常有力,我们相信这一候选药物将在中国带来大量利益。中国的肝癌病例占全球的一半以上。我们很高兴将这一重要的新候选药物引进中国,为众多需要对该疾病进行有效治疗的患者造福。”