IMPROVED VIRAL VECTORS FOR GENE THERAPY AND VACCINATION - Isis Project No 1288
Oxford researchers have used chemical methods to coat virus particles, modifying their properties to retarget them to desired cell types. The invention has applications in gene therapies and in vaccination.
Marketing Opportunity
Viruses are used in vaccines and in gene therapy as vectors to deliver genes or DNA to specific biological targets. A successful vector must have high specificity to the target cell, so that it goes where needed but not anywhere else, and the ability to avoid pre-existing antibodies that would neutralise it. These requirements have caused significant problems in the development of vaccines and gene therapies. There is now a critical need for new vectors and this is the focus of considerable research efforts.
The Oxford Invention
Oxford researchers in the departments of chemistry and clinical pharmacology have approached this goal by modifying the properties of well-known, well-characterized and safe viral vectors. Their method transforms the outside of the virus with sugars, which are used as molecular post-codes to target protein delivery and cellular interactions.
Adenovirus is a commonly used vector in therapeutic gene therapy and vaccine development. The researchers have cloaked adenovirus with mannose and showed that the normal broad infectiveness of adenovirus is switched off, and that instead it is re-targeted to macrophage cells. The fragile structure of adenovirus is maintained so that the virus particle is still active after treatment with the sugars.
Because the sugar modification is chemical and not genetic, there are no concerns about the virus reproducing with altered properties. Sugar modification also improves storage and recovery of the virus, which is important for vaccine applications in certain parts of the world.
The technology has clear potential in gene therapy and there are exciting possibilities to apply the technology in the field of vaccination.
Patent Status
This work is the subject of patent application (WO2006/008513), and Isis would like to talk to companies interested in developing the commercial opportunity that this represents. Please contact the Isis Project Manager to discuss this further.
Further reading: Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 1057-1061
Keywords
viral vector adenovirus gene therapy vaccination vaccine macrophage vector sugar glycosylation targeting