Astellas links with academia on immunostimulating gene-loading oncolytic virus

6 March 2018

Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma (TYO: 4503) has entered into the global exclusive licensing agreements with Tottori University on development/commercialization of immunostimulating gene-loading oncolytic virus.

Oncolytic virus exerts antitumor effect on tumor cells by selectively proliferating in them and destroying them. This is the second oncolytic virus collaboration announced this week, following that of Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim tying up with Austrian biotech ViraTherapeutics in this area of research.

The immunostimulating gene-loading oncolytic virus to be covered by these agreements is expected to induce, besides the above antitumor effect, antitumor immunity to tumors not responding to currently available cancer immunotherapies, that is to say, tumors without infiltration of lymphocytes into tumor tissues, through activation of innate immunity and acquired immunity by multiple gene products.

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