Presentation 7-1

Application Of Gene Therapy Employing A Proprietary Endothelial Specific Promoter to Manipulate Angiogenesis
Prof. Dror Harats
The institute of lipid and Atherosclerosis Research Sheba Medical Center Tel-Hashomer and Vascular Biogenics Ltd.

*************************************

The term angiogenesis has been coined to define the process of growing new blood vessels from preexisting ones. Angiogenesis is a double edged sword. Whereas destruction of proliferative blood vessels is expected to halt the progression of metastatic tumors, creation of new blood vessels and collaterals is essential for the maintenance of tissue perfusion.

VBL has developed a gene therapy tool to manipulate angiogenesis in a tissue and condition specific manner, generating two products: GT-111 for the anti-angiogenic treatment of cancer, and GT-211 for the pro-angiogenic treatment of lschemic diseases.Both products are based upon VBL’s proprietary PPE-1(3x) promoter, an endothelial and hypoxia-specific promoter that directs expression of a desired gene preferentially, to endothelial cells participating in formation of neovasculature. The relative inherent specificity of PPE-1(3x) makes systemic administration feasible, providing a major advance in terms of safety and efficacy beyond that of current locally administered gene therapy solutions.

*************************************

http://www.vbl.co.il/
http://eng.sheba.co.il/main/siteNew/index.php?page=46&action=sidLink&stId=377