James Wilson developing gene therapy version of Regeneron COVID mAb cocktail; plus an oncolytic adenovirus, MapLight-Michael J. Fox Foundation and more

Penn, Regeneron on AAV-encoded REGN-COV2
A James Wilson-led University of Pennsylvania team is developing a gene therapy form of casirivimab/imdevimab (REGN-COV2) from  Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN). The collaboration is based on the potential for a single, intranasal administration of an adeno-associated viral vector encoding the COVID-19 mAb cocktail to enable sustained expression for a longer duration of expression. The two-mAb cockatil gained emergency use authorization from FDA on Nov. 21 to treat high-risk COVID-19 outpatients.

An adenovirus-based oncolytic virus therapy
An article in Science Translational Medicine describes an engineered adenovirus, dubbed Ad5-3M, that suppressed tumor growth and prolonged survival in mice with lung cancer. The mutations in oncolytic virus therapy, generated by Emory University and Case Western Reserve University researchers, enables Ad5-3M to resist inactivation by antibodies, which can also trigger complement and mediate liver toxicity via antibody-mediated sequestration in liver macrophages...