TelomeScan

TelomeScan (OBP-401) is a genetically engineered adenovirus type 5 designed for the detection of tumor cells. It utilizes the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene promoter to drive selective viral replication in telomerase-positive cells, which are typically cancerous. The virus also contains a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene under the control of a cytomegalovirus promoter, enabling visual identification of infected cancer cells through fluorescence. This approach allows for sensitive and specific detection of living circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood samples from cancer patients and can be used as a liquid biopsy tool for early diagnosis, monitoring therapeutic efficacy, detecting recurrence, and guiding therapy selection. OBP-1101 is an improved second-generation version addressing issues such as false negatives due to lack of adenovirus receptor on some cancer cells and false positives from certain white blood cells with hTERT activity[1][5][7].

Brand names

TelomeScan