A consortium of scientists is improving a virus commonly used to perform gene therapy in hopes of making it more effective. UAB gene therapist David Curiel, M.D., says his group has modified an adenovirus that reproduces inside tumor cells so it targets the cancer cells better. Called delta-24.RGD, it is the basis for funding from the National Cancer Institute's Rapid Access to Intervention Development (RAID) program. RAID helps academic researchers speed development of scientific ideas into clinical trials and has no defined ceiling on spending. It's the second such funding for UAB. This one is shared with scientists at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and VU Medical Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Curiel says clinical trials could begin in a year.
Contact Hank Black, 205-934-8938 or [email protected].
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