Hannah Devlin, Guardian UK Science Correspondent, reports that two US patients have recovered from intractable infections after being treated with a pioneering phage therapy involving genetically engineered bacteria-killing viruses.A 26-year-old man with cystic fibrosis, was approaching death after suffering a chronic lung infection. After being given the phage therapy, his infection cleared allowing him to receive a lung transplant and resume an active life.And, a 56-year-old man with severe arthritis, showed a remarkable recovery from a skin infection that was taking hold of his body and which had proved untreatable with conventional drugs. For more information see: https://www.inkl.com/news/phage-
An experimental cancer-killing virus (Vaxinia) has been administered to a human patient for the first time, with hopes the testing will ultimately reveal evidence of a new means of successfully fighting cancer tumors in humans. Co-developers of the oncolytic virus drug are the City of Hope cancer care and research center in Los Angeles and Australia-based biotech company Imugene. The trial is for two years.Previous research has shown the drug can harness an animal immune system to hunt and destroy cancer cells. Another monocolytic virus drug T-VEC (Talimogene laherparepvec) is used to treat melanoma in humans.Article: https://www.sciencealert.com/first-patient-in
Lynn Wood
Sabra Brock