Human Interferon as a Therapeutic Agent

The therapeutic potential of interferon has been reviewed twice before in these columns.1 , 2 After an initial period of limited availability of the natural material, followed by a period of unrealistic expectations when cloning made interferon readily available, the real usefulness of interferon is just beginning to be understood. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed two firms to sell recombinant interferon alfa for the treatment of hairy-cell leukemia. Its local administration in condylomata acuminata is the application most likely to be licensed next in the United States.Why is there such a limited series of uses despite interferon's . . .