This technology is a viral vector based on the murine leukemia virus (MLV), which has been favored for clinical gene therapy due to its preferential infectivity of human cell types. The original vector has been modified through the use of directed evolution targeting its protease (PR) gene, which has been found to produce increased stability for the viral vector. It is believed that this modification has the potential to be applied to all clinically-relevant viral vectors.

Applications 

• Clinical, such as delivery of gene therapy therapeutics
• Biomedical Research by way of development of gene therapy therapeutics and general basic science research.

Benefits

• Increased virus production.
• Increased infection efficiency.
• Increased safety (indirect benefit of decrease in required vector dose).