Company Gets Grant to Develop Viral Vector to Treat CLL

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Press Release Source: Lentigen Corporation

Lentigen Corporation Receives Grant from the NIH to Develop a

Potential New Therapy for the Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic

Leukemia

Thursday November 30, 10:17 am ET

BALTIMORE and PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Lentigen

Corporation announced today that it has received National Institute

of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to

develop an improved and novel therapy for patients with Chronic

Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and other hematological malignancies. The

goal of the proposed project is to demonstrate the ability of

Lentigen's lentiviral vector (LV) to provide an efficient and

clinically feasible delivery system for CD40-ligand (CD154), a well-

known stimulator of T cells in CLL.

CLL is a progressive disease for which no cure is available. The

cancer produces abnormal white blood cells that are very long-lived

and thus accumulate slowly, as opposed to the relatively short-lived

and rapidly accumulating cells that characterize acute forms of the

disease. CLL is rare in individuals under 45 years of age. The

majority of patients are over age 50 when diagnosed and the

incidence of the disease increases dramatically thereafter.

Dr. Boro Dropulic, Lentigen founder and CEO, commented, " Lentigen

continues to be committed to exploring the potential of our

lentiviral vector technology to develop new therapies for

devastating diseases. We are optimistic that the LV-CD154 approach

will prove to be superior and improve the existing immune therapies

for CLL and other hematological malignancies. "

About Lentiviral Vectors

Lentiviral vectors (LV) are vehicles that can deliver genes or RNAi

into cells with up to 100% efficiency and stability. Previous viral

vector systems such as non-viral, adenoviral and adeno-associated

viral vectors could achieve high, but not stable gene delivery into

cells. Other vectors such as murine retroviral vectors can deliver

genes stably, but not efficiently.

Gene delivery is accomplished by the binding and fusing of the LV

pseudotyped envelope protein to the target cell membrane. The LV RNA

containing the gene or gene silencing sequence is then incorporated

into the cell via reverse transcription creating a DNA complex. This

complex enters the nucleus incorporating into the chromosomal DNA

creating a stable molecule. The gene sequence is integrated in the

chromosome and is copied along with the DNA during ongoing cell

division.