Gene therapy startup aims to use viruses to fight cancer.

A new startup founded by a former University of California San-Francisco investigator, Nicole Paulk, is using docile viruses developed for delivering healthy genes to patients with genetic diseases to slide interferons and other immune-stimulating molecules into unsuspecting cancer cells. The startup aims to turn the workhorse of gene therapy against cancer by using interferon, a protein from the body's immune system, to stimulate the immune system to fight cancer.