aglatimagene besadenovec + valacyclovir

Aglatimagene besadenovec + valacyclovir is a combination therapy under investigation for the treatment of certain cancers, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and malignant glioma. Aglatimagene besadenovec is an adenoviral vector engineered to deliver the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene into tumor cells. Once inside the tumor, HSV-tk is expressed by cancer cells, making them susceptible to synthetic acyclic guanosine analogues such as valacyclovir. When administered together, valacyclovir acts as a prodrug that is converted by HSV-tk into a toxic nucleotide analogue within transduced tumor cells, leading to selective cell death (apoptosis). This process also releases tumor-associated antigens that may stimulate an antitumor immune response. The combination has received FDA fast track designation for pancreatic cancer and has been studied in clinical trials for both pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and malignant glioma[3][4][5][6].

Brand names

Valtrex

Other names

aglatimagene besadenovecvalacyclovir