Gene Transfer for Cancer Pain

Therapeutic HSV-based vectors deliver genes from skin inoculation to sensory neurons to interrupt pain signaling at the spinal level. Side effects may be limited by the focal distribution of vector delivery and preproenkephalin expression. Preproenkephalin is a natural human gene that produces peptides that bind to opioid receptors in the body. The therapeutic being evaluated, NP2, is a replication defective herpes simplex type 1 virus (HSV-1) modified to express the human preproenkephalin gene that has demonstrated efficacy in numerous model of pain, including pain caused by cancer.