Safety and Efficacy of ASN-002 Combined With a Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitor

ASN-002 has been designed for clinical applications, especially for intratumoral administration in the treatment of various cancers. This rAd vector delivers the gene of interest, in the case of ASN-002 the human IFNγ gene, into target cells. The rAd vector in ASN-002 is replication deficient and although it infects cells, it is not able to replicate in the tumor or in normal human cells. The infected cells are able to transcribe and translate the IFNγ DNA leading to a sustained local concentration of IFNγ in the tumor mass that is designed to avoid high levels of systemic IFNγ that may be lead to unacceptable toxicity.