Gene therapy--current status and outlook

None of the human gene transfer studies to date has shown definitive proof of clinical efficacy, despite more than 100 clinical protocols involving nearly 600 patients. In spite of the lack of positive results, tremendous hope permeates the field, biotechnology companies are getting started and raising millions of dollars from venture capital, and patients all over the world are agreeing to enroll in protocols involving this technology. Critics of the field claim that gene therapy has been overemphasized by researchers in academia, government and industry and by the scientific and popular media. Supporters of the field argue that the state of gene therapy is no different than other experimental therapies in its early stages. During the early stages of chemotherapy, agents were tested on hundreds of patients, often with a similar level of hope and no clinical effects. Despite the many controversies, one issue is shared by both groups: all of them recognize the tremendous potential of this technology to have an impact on human disease and share hope for long-term results.