Patent ID: 6869935

Claim:
A method of treating a human patient having proliferative vitreoretinopathy, comprising: (a) providing by intravitreal administration a retroviral vector in an amount sufficient to transduce replicating ocular cells in said human patient in vivo, wherein the retroviral vector comprises a polynucleotide encoding Herpes Simplex Virus thymidine kinase wherein said Herpes Simplex Virus thymidine kinase is expressed in an amount effective to provide for the inhibition, prevention, or destruction of the growth of replicating ocular cells upon administration of ganciclovir to said human patient; and (b) administering to said patient ganciclovir in an amount effective to interact with said Herpes Simplex Virus thymidine kinase in order to inhibit, prevent, or destroy the growth of said replicating ocular cells.