Fund cancer research, gain immortality. Maybe.

Ad5[CgA-E1A-miR122]PTD isn’t a catchy name. But, for just one million pounds, Ad5[CgA-E1A-miR122]PTD (Ad5 for short) could be renamed — after you.

But why would anyone want this seemingly pointless honour? A Swedish research team modified Ad5, a basic adenovirus, so that it ‘eats cancer’. More accurately, it specifically targets and kills neuroendocrine tumours, cancers arising from the hormonal (endocrine) and the nervous systems. However, lack of funding means that the virus remains untested in humans.

What would this mean for potential sponsors? Either your name would become known worldwide (‘I got a dose of the Romney today. Never felt better!’), or relegated to the footnotes of obscure scientific papers if the research flops.

But why isn’t it attracting more funding? Allegedly because it won’t bring in much money for biotech companies, due to much of the research being public and therefore unpatentable. Hence, little potential return. In theory. In reality a little modification to make it more oncogenically lethal or specific and a patent could be feasibly granted.

The main reason funding is not forthcoming is likely the reduced interest in gene therapy for cancer, following the death of 18 year old Jesse Gelsinger after injection of the adenovirus being trialled. Coupled with the difficulty of virus modification and the requirement for the virus to destroy every cancer cell whilst not killing your own results in a cancer therapy sponsors shy away from. It doesn’t help either that NETs are rare cancers to begin with.

Where is this research likely to head? Considering the media storm whipped up by the story someone will likely come along and cough up the dough for a chance of immortality. Whether this will fuel further funding in exchange for having cures named after sponsors — and how ethical this is — is another question entirely.

For more information about the donation drive visit uu.se/en/support/oncolytic or netpatientfoundation.org.