Infecting tumors

Mantis Therapeutics B.V. has a Salmonella vector that is able to replicate in solid tumors but not healthy tissues, and is betting its bacteria will achieve greater efficacy than permanently attenuated vectors, without compromising safety.

Mantis founder and CEO Nuno Viegas told BioCentury Salmonella and other anaerobic bacteria are attractive agents for delivering cancer therapies because the microbes naturally home to the hypoxic tumor microenvironment and, once there, are protected from the host immune system. ...