 HF10 is an attenuated, spontaneous mutant of Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV1). HF10 has not been modified by recombinant DNA techniques and therefore does not contain exogenous genes. This virus displays strong anti-cancer activity in cancer models in vitro and in vivo.
HF10 is a newly established HSV strain derived from a spontaneous mutant of the strain HF isolated by Professor Yukihiro Nishiyama, Nagoya University, School of Medicine. M's Science is collaborating with Prof. Nishiyama to develop HF10 as an effective cancer drug.
HSV infects human cells, replicates and destroys infected cells and has the potential to become an effective oncolytic virotherapy agent. Wild type or clinically isolated strains of HSV cause lethal encephalitis in mice by both intracerebral and peripheral routes of infection and thus cannot be developed for the treatment of cancer. However, several attenuated HSV strains have been investigated for cancer therapy. These strains do not cause encephalitis in mice even by intracerebral inoculation but attenuation of viral replication in immunocompetent hosts also strongly reduced their oncolytic activity.
Clinical Development
Three investigator-initiated clinical studies with HF10 were performed at Nagoya University School of Medicine. Small numbers of patients with breast cancer (6 patients), pancreas cancer (3 patients) and head and neck cancer (3 patients) were treated with HF10. The results demonstrated oncolytic activity and tolerability of HF10 in cancer patients.
M's Science pursues the treatment of head and neck cancer as the first indication for HF10 and is preparing to start a Phase-I clinical trial in the US in 2007. Secondary indications for HF10 are melanoma, breast cancer
and disseminated peritoneal metastases. |
