The AdVince Virus

THE ADVINCE ADVENTURE

Since 2008, Professor Magnus Essand and his research team from the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at the University of Uppsala (Sweden) have been working on a completely new approach to the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs).

AdVince is an anti-NET (oncolytic immunotherapy) treatment that is being developed at the University of Uppsala. It is named after an adenovirus (harmless virus responsible for the common cold) and Vince Hamilton, the co-founder of the Victory NET Foundation whose generous donation during Alexander Masters’ first fundraising drive enabled researchers at the Swedish university to continue their work on the anti-NET treatment.

This treatment consists of inoculation with an oncolytic virus, which has proven to be effective in the destruction of NETs in mice and is currently being tested on humans, the results of which are very encouraging.

It was specifically designed to infect and kill cancer cells that are sources of NETs. This inoculation process stimulates the immune system to attack cells infected with this virus, so that the patient’s body itself is combating the NETs. Cancer cells are generally not detected by the subject’s immune system because they are not recognised as harmful to the body and therefore do not trigger the usual defence mechanisms. The oncolytic virus infects and replicates in cancer cells, which eventually burst and release large amounts of the viruses. These in turn infect neighbouring cancer cells, and so on.

AdVince is the first-ever medical trial to be majority-funded by a single patient and which today is enabling other patients to take part in the research and clinical trial programme.

The Oncolytic Virus Fund - Uppsala University, Sweden

Professor Magnus Essand at Uppsala University has received a donation from entrepreneur Vince Hamilton of two million Swiss franc (CHF), the equivalent of just over two million US dollars. The donation will be used to launch the world’s first clinical trials with an oncolytic virus designed to specifically target neuroendocrine tumours.

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