New Drug A Live Virus Carrying Gene, A Gene Therapy approved by USFDA for treatment of Bladder Cancer that is non metastatic and don’t respond to other treatments like BCG

Novel drug Adstiladrin that delivers genes through a live virus vector, approved by USFDA for treatment of non-muscle invasive  Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive bladder cancer.

This month the US FDA has approved a novel drug, a gene therapy that makes use of a live virus (vector) which carries the gene and delivers it to the point where it is required to provide treatment. This virus carrying the gene is rendered harmless, virus  does not multiply in human cells, it is used to carry gene that is required to be delivered at the point in the human body,  that is bladder.

This drug Adstiladrin is recommended to patients who are not responding to treatment with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin inoculation and their cancer is no metastatic non muscle invasive type (NMIBC).

The drug consists of human gene that code for interferon, and starts biosynthesis of interferon is delivered through this virus vector gene delivery system Nadofaragene firadenovec (also known as rAd-IFNa/Syn3)

Patients affected with Bladder Cancer that is no metastatic and it’s not responding to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin which is one of best treatment of Bladder Cancer, in such a situation the drug Adstiladrin is found to provide relief; it is manufactured by Ferring Pharmaceuticals A/S.

The approved gene therapy drug is a live virus carrying a gene that codes for human interferons which fight with cancerous cells and help to prevent spread of cancerous cells to other body tissue and muscles.

Other treatment for bladder cancer involves injecting Bacillus Calmette-Guérin live bacterias, which stimulate the local tissue to trigger its own defense mechanism against cancerous cells thereby eliminating the cancerous cells. In some patients this also does not work therefore such patients now can be provided with the gene therapy drug Adstiladrin which when injected into bladder will deliver genes that produce interferons into local epithelial cells and induce production of interferons that will eliminate cancerous cells.