The last decade has nourished strong doubts on the beneficial prospects of gene therapy for
curing fatal diseases. However, this climate of reservation is currently being transcended by
the publication of several successful clinical protocols, restoring confidence in the
appropriateness of therapeutic gene transfer. A strong sign of this present enthusiasm for
gene therapy by clinicians and industrials is the market approval of the therapeutic viral
vector Glybera, the first commercial product in Europe of this class of drug. This new field of …