Virus tapped to fight disease

Diseases as diverse as arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, diabetes and Alzheimer's may be fought with weapons derived from viruses.

It was over dinner in November 1991, that medical researchers Grant McFadden and Alexandra Lucas had the chat that led to yesterday's announcement by Viron Therapeutics: An anti-inflammatory protein derived from a virus has been shown to reduce major adverse cardiac events (MACE) without causing any adverse cardiac events. In a presentation to the American Heart Association conference in Florida, Jean-Claude Tardif, director of the Montreal Heart Institute, reported on trials of a new drug, VT-111, in patients having coronary stents implanted. Those given the drug VT-111 had suffered no adverse cardiac events at the six-month follow-up stage, while in the control group receiving a placebo more than 18 per cent had suffered an adverse event. Indications are, according to Tardif, that VT-111 is a remarkably potent new weapon in the fight against disease. It has been an almost two decade long journey of discovery for McFadden and Lucas and the small biotechnology company they founded, Viron Therapeutics, on moving to London, Ontario, in 1996. But now their novel approach to drug development involving viruses is gaining widespread acceptance. McFadden identified the specific gene in the myxoma virus responsible for the protein curtailing inflammation. Viron produced a purified form of the protein, and the resulting drug was named VT-111. The myxoma virus attacks rabbits but not humans. By March of 2003, after five years of testing on mice, rats, monkeys and finally 16 healthy humans, VT-111 had passed the first phase of three checks imposed by U.S. and Canadian drug safety regulations. Now, more than six years later, VT-111 has cleared another hurdle. Its use in patients having a coronary stent implanted "demonstrated a significant reduction of cardiac enzymes that predict MACE (major adverse cardiac events) . . . The MACE data is a strong trend," said Viron Therapeutics V.P. of Business Development, Kevin Sullivan. In addition to investigating its potential in fighting heart disease, Viron is studying if VT-111 could be used in organ transplantation to reduce rejection. Furthermore, VT-111's ability to control inflammation shows great promise in treating diseases as diverse as arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, diabetes and Alzheimer's. Inflammation is a normal response of the body's defence system that scientists increasingly believe may underlie many chronic diseases. Viron researchers are continuing to investigate a number of viruses as potential sources for drugs as they attempt to harness the infectious agents to cure instead of cause diseases. Virologist Grant McFadden and cardiologist Alexandra Lucas are now with the University of Florida, but the two scientists retain their association with the London, Ontario, based company the two research scientists co-founded. For more information visit the Viron Therapeutics Internet site.