Safety and Efficacy of Gene-Based Therapeutics for Inherited Disorders


Book Description

In this book, leading international experts analyze state-of-the-art advances in gene transfer vectors for applications in inherited disorders and also examine the toxicity profiles of these methods. The authors discuss the strengths and weaknesses of available vectors in the clinical setting, and specifically focus on the challenges and possible solutions that researchers are testing in order to improve the safety of gene therapy for genetic diseases. This comprehensive and authoritative overview of vector development is a necessary text for researchers, toxicologists, pharmacologists, molecular biologists, physicians, and students in these fields.




Exploring Novel Clinical Trial Designs for Gene-Based Therapies


Book Description

Recognizing the potential design complexities and ethical issues associated with clinical trials for gene therapies, the Forum on Regenerative Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a 1-day workshop in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2019. Speakers at the workshop discussed patient recruitment and selection for gene-based clinical trials, explored how the safety of new therapies is assessed, reviewed the challenges involving dose escalation, and spoke about ethical issues such as informed consent and the role of clinicians in recommending trials as options to their patients. The workshop also included discussions of topics related to gene therapies in the context of other available and potentially curative treatments, such as bone marrow transplantation for hemoglobinopathies. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.




Immunopharmacology


Book Description

During the past decades, with the introduction of the recombinant DNA, hybridoma and transgenic technologies there has been an exponential evolution in understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of a large number of human diseases. The technologies are evident with the development of cytokines and monoclonal antibodies as therapeutic agents and the techniques used in gene therapy. Immunopharmacology is that area of biomedical sciences where immunology, pharmacology and pathology overlap. It concerns the pharmacological approach to the immune response in physiological as well as pathological events. This goals and objectives of this textbook are to emphasize the developments in immunology and pharmacology as they relate to the modulation of immune response. The information includes the pharmacology of cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, mechanism of action of immune-suppressive agents and their relevance in tissue transplantation, therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AIDS and the techniques employed in gene therapy. The book is intended for health care professional students and graduate students in pharmacology and immunology.




Fast Facts: Gene Therapy


Book Description

Gene therapy has emerged as a discipline in medicine that can provide treatments for diseases that have no other therapies available, save lives of patients for whom there is no other hope and replace suboptimal treatments with lasting cures. 'Fast Facts: Gene Therapy' provides an overview of the field, looking at the main vector systems used to transfer the therapeutic gene constructs, the molecular mechanisms and the history of gene therapy, as well as the safety and ethical considerations of this important advance. Multiple examples of diseases that are already successfully treated with gene therapy are given, with discussion of treatments that hold promise for the future. This book will be informative and of value to health professionals, researchers, students and anyone with an interest in this exciting and fast-moving area. Contents: • Principles of gene therapy • Gene therapy techniques • Ethical and safety considerations • Gene therapies with proven clinical efficacy • Genome editing • Research directions – the next wave of treatments




Gene Therapy for Cancer


Book Description

The three sections of this volume present currently available cancer gene therapy techniques. Part I describes the various aspects of gene delivery. In Part II, the contributors discuss strategies and targets for the treatment of cancer. Finally, in Part III, experts discuss the difficulties inherent in bringing gene therapy treatment for cancer to the clinic. This book will prove valuable as the volume of preclinical and clinical data continues to increase.




Pharmaceutical Biotechnology


Book Description

The field of pharmaceutical biotechnology is evolving rapidly. A whole new arsenal of protein pharmaceuticals is being produced by recombinant techniques for cancer, viral infections, cardiovascular and hereditary disorders, and other diseases. In addition, scientists are confronted with new technologies such as polymerase chain reactions, combinatorial chemistry and gene therapy. This introductory textbook provides extensive coverage of both the basic science and the applications of biotechnology-produced pharmaceuticals, with special emphasis on their clinical use. Pharmaceutical Biotechnology serves as a complete one-stop source for undergraduate pharmacists, and it is valuable for researchers and professionals in the pharmaceutical industry as well.




In Vivo and Ex Vivo Gene Therapy for Inherited and Non-Inherited Disorders


Book Description

Ongoing advances in pharmaceutical biotechnology have paved the way to ground-breaking new biological therapeutic modalities, offering the possibility of a durable curative approach for a number of life-threatening diseases, for which the medical need is as yet unmet. Over the past decades, gene therapy has seen a massive transformation from a proof-of-concept approach to a clinical reality culminating in the regulatory approval of state-of-the-art products in the European Union and in the United States. This book captures some of the scientific progresses notably in gene transfer technologies and translational development of in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy interventions in the treatment of a broad range of complex and debilitating non-inherited and inherited disorders such as: human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infection, cancer, cystic fibrosis, hereditary retinopathies, haemophilia B, cardiac diseases, and chronic liver fibrosis.




Heritable Human Genome Editing


Book Description

Heritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues. Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably and without introducing undesired changes - criteria that have not yet been met, says Heritable Human Genome Editing. From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses. The report specifies stringent preclinical and clinical requirements for establishing safety and efficacy, and for undertaking long-term monitoring of outcomes. Extensive national and international dialogue is needed before any country decides whether to permit clinical use of this technology, according to the report, which identifies essential elements of national and international scientific governance and oversight.




Understanding Gene Therapy


Book Description

This title explains what gene therapy is, how genes are delivered and how they are targeted. It discusses recent gene therapy trials, future applications and considers the ethical and safety issues surrounding gene therapy. Understanding Gene Therapy is a




Oversight and Review of Clinical Gene Transfer Protocols


Book Description

Gene transfer research is a rapidly advancing field that involves the introduction of a genetic sequence into a human subject for research or diagnostic purposes. Clinical gene transfer trials are subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the federal level and to oversight by institutional review boards (IRBs) and institutional biosafety committees (IBCs) at the local level before human subjects can be enrolled. In addition, at present all researchers and institutions funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are required by NIH guidelines to submit human gene transfer protocols for advisory review by the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC). Some protocols are then selected for individual review and public discussion. Oversight and Review of Clinical Gene Transfer Protocols provides an assessment of the state of existing gene transfer science and the current regulatory and policy context under which research is investigated. This report assesses whether the current oversight of individual gene transfer protocols by the RAC continues to be necessary and offers recommendations concerning the criteria the NIH should employ to determine whether individual protocols should receive public review. The focus of this report is on the standards the RAC and NIH should use in exercising its oversight function. Oversight and Review of Clinical Gene Transfer Protocols will assist not only the RAC, but also research institutions and the general public with respect to utilizing and improving existing oversight processes.