Genzyme's gene therapy assessed in PAD

Researchers in the UK and Germany say they have begun enrolling patients in a Phase II study assessing whether a gene therapy treatment, developed by US biotechnology firm Genzyme, can help patients suffering from peripheral arterial disease. The project is designed to assess the efficacy of the injection of an engineered form of a human gene into a patients legs in stimulating the creation of new blood vessels, thereby allowing improved circulation.

The study is being conducted at 40 institutions worldwide, including 25 in the USA, three in Germany and two in the UK. Jill Belch, lead researcher at Ninewells Hospital and Dundee University in the UK, said that the treatment was an attempt to utilize the body's own ability to grow blood vessels and that, "if successful, this approach could be an important advance for patients who suffer from intermittent claudication."