The mere mention of Salmonella invariably brings up the noxious notion of food poisoning. Vion has yet to make a penny, but its shares surged to 30 earlier in the year, as investors rediscovered the biotech group. When the market turned south in April, Vion went with it and tumbled all the way to 10. In recent weeks, the stock has edged up to 14. Patients whose cancer has spread usually go for chemotherapy, in which anticancer agents are intravenously injected into the body.
Chemotherapy drugs destroy cancer cells by stopping their ability to divide and reproduce.
But in the process, these drugs don't discriminate between tumor cells and normal cells. There it can be employed two ways. This mutated form of Salmonella can be used alone to shrink and destroy the tumor, while leaving the healthy tissue alone. The modified Salmonella continues to be receptive to antibiotics, so physicians can rid the patient's system of it should any unexpected adverse event occurs during therapy. Vion will collaborate with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in this research and will share rights for any patents and revenues derived from products that result from the study.