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Clinical trials of a virus that selectively attacks cancer cells will begin in 2012
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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The Wellcome Trust, the world's largest biomedical research charity, has given biotech company PsiOxus Therapeutics £1.8 million to conduct clinical trials of a virus that selectively attacks cancer cells. The trials are expected to begin early in 2012.
The goal of scientists from PsiOxus Therapeutics, a company that develops “smart drugs for serious diseases,” is to develop a new cancer treatment method based on the use of a virus that exhibits high specificity for cancer cells. Viruses that preferentially attack cancer cells and do not harm normal tissue are known as oncolytic viruses. The oncolytic virus ColoAd1 was obtained based on the evolutionary principle of natural selection.
Laboratory studies have shown that ColoAd1 selectively destroys cancer cells of a wide range of solid tumors, without showing activity towards normal tissue cells. Compared to other oncolytic viruses also obtained for anticancer therapy, ColoAd1 maintains a high level of activity in human blood. This means that it can be systematically administered to treat metastatic cancer, i.e. cancer that has already spread to other tissues.
PsiOxus Therapeutics plans to use the Wellcome Trust award to conduct a phase I/II clinical trial of ColoAd1 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, which will evaluate the safety and tolerability of the virus in humans. Trials in patients with other solid tumors, including primary hepatocellular carcinoma and ovarian cancer, are also planned for the near future.
“We are delighted that our innovative oncolytic product has been recognised by the UK’s leading biomedical foundation, the Wellcome Trust. This funding enables key clinical trials to confirm the safety and efficacy of intravenous ColoAd1 in patients with metastatic cancer,” commented Dr John Beadle, CEO of PsiOxus Therapeutics, on the Wellcome Trust decision.
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