Cell Medica: Research

Cytovir: Anti-viral Immune Reconstitution

Cytovir CMV

Cytovir CMV is a novel treatment that helps establish a new immune system to fight Cytomegalovirus (CMV).

CMV is a member of the herpes virus family. It can infect up to 80% of the population but infection is generally asymptomatic in healthy individuals. As a latent virus it may remain in the body for extended periods of time and, while suppressed by the immune system in healthy individuals, in immunocompromised individuals this may lead to complications such as pneumonitis, enteritis or retinitis.

New treatment options for CMV are urgently needed because the currently available drugs have major limitations.

M. Boeckh, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Cr & P. Ljungman, Karolinska University Hospital (1)

Following a stem cell transplant, a patient’s immune system will not function fully for several months and during this time CMV is one of the most common infections to develop. CMV infection can be treated with antiviral drugs, but these do not always work and often have undesirable side effects. If the drugs do work, it is also common for the infection to recur when they are stopped.

Cytovir CMV uses immune cells from the original bone marrow transplant donor that are processed to enrich for cells that control the CMV virus. The active agent in Cytovir CMV is a naturally-occurring, CMV-specific memory or effector T cell.

Cytovir CMV is available to treat patients by request. Qualified clinicians who would like further information on this treatment should contact Karen Hodgkin, Head of Clinical Development by email at info@cellmedica.co.uk.

For information on our clinical trials for Cytovir CMV,