Modified oncolytic viruses

1. An isolated selected Coxsackie A21 virus capable of lytically infecting or inducing apoptosis in a cell substantially in the absence of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), wherein the selected virus comprises:

(i) a capsid protein encoded by the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or

(ii) a variant capsid protein encoded by a variant of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, the variant capsid protein comprising:

(a) VP3 H96 or a conservative variation thereof wherein the conservative variation includes K, or

(b) VP3 A101 or a conservative variation thereof wherein A101 is substituted by an amino acid selected from the group consisting of G, T, S, and M, or

(c) both (a) and (b).

2. The Coxsackie A21 virus according to claim 1 , wherein the selected virus is capable of lytically infecting a cell through decay-accelerating factor (DAF) on the cell.

3. The Coxsackie A21 virus according to claim 1 , wherein the virus is bioselected by passaging a Coxsackie A21 virus not capable of lytically infecting a cell without ICAM-1 in a DAF-expressing cell line without ICAM-1 and recovering the selected Coxsackie A21 virus which is capable of lytically infecting a cell without ICAM-1.

4. The Coxsackie A21 virus according to claim 1 , wherein the virus is altered, mutated or modified by site directed mutagenesis or passage in a cell where access to ICAM-1 is blocked by use of an anti-ICAM-1 antibody.

5. The Coxsackie A21 virus according to claim 1 , wherein the virus comprises a capsid protein having VP3 H96 and VP3 A101.

6. The Coxsackie A21 virus according to claim 1 , wherein the cell is a neoplasm.

7. The Coxsackie A21 virus according to claim 6 , wherein the neoplasm is a DAF-expressing neoplasm.

8. The Coxsackie A21 virus according to claim 7 , wherein the neoplasm is selected from the group consisting of lung cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, thyroid cancer, renal cancer, adrenal cancer, liver cancer, leukemia, melanoma, pre-cancerous cells, oesophageal cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer, ovarian cancer, stomach and intestinal cancer.

9. An isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding an isolated selected Coxsackie A21 virus according to claim 1 .

10. The isolated nucleic acid molecule according to claim 9 , wherein the nucleic acid is a single stranded RNA or complementary DNA.

11. An isolated selected Coxsackie A21 virus in the form of CVA21-DAFv comprising a capsid protein encoded by the nucleotide sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7.

12. An isolated selected Coxsackie A21 virus capable of lytically infecting or inducing apoptosis in a cell substantially in the absence of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), wherein the selected virus comprises:

(i) a capsid protein having the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 8, or

(ii) a capsid protein that is a variant of the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 8, the variant comprising:

(a) a conservative substitution of VP3 H96 being VP3 H96K, or

(b) a conservative substitution of VP3 A101 selected from the group consisting of VP3 A101G, VP3 A101T, VP3 A101S, and VP3 A101M, or

(c) both (a) and (b).