[extropy-chat] Cancer gene therapy is first to be approved

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

>From the New Scientist, more coverage of the first cancer gene therapy to be
approved. For the first time, a gene therapy-based treatment has been given
the go-ahead by regulatory authorities. China's medicines authority approved
the cancer therapy after it achieved promising results in a clinical trial.
The treatment, called Gendicine, will be launched commercially in January by
SiBiono GeneTech of Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The results of the trial
will be published in December in China's national medical journal. The
Chinese did evaluate this in considerable detail, so this was not a trivial
approval but a serious in-depth analysis. The treatment consists of an
adenovirus designed to insert a gene called p53. This gene codes for a
protein that triggers cell suicide when cells start to run amok, preventing
them becoming cancerous. In 64 per cent of patients given Gendicine there
was complete regression of primary tumours, a rate three times as great as
that in the radiotherapy-only group. Peng hopes the virus will work against
other kinds of cancers too. A PDF file is available from NEW BRUNSWICK
SCIENTIFIC, who participated in the development work.
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