This invention relates to oncolytic
vaccinia viruses, recombinant viruses thereof, and methods of use. Specifically, the invention provides
vaccinia virus clone lines and recombinant
vaccinia viruses derived therefrom, said vaccinia
virus clone lines exhibiting enhanced antitumor properties and / or reduced
immunogenicity. The invention also provides recombinant
oncolytic virus lines comprising inactivating mutations in one or more
viral genes, and / or one or more
heterologous nucleic acids each encoding one or more
heterologous gene products. The viruses provided by this invention (such as
vaccinia viruses, including recombinant
vaccinia viruses) can be used as
oncolytic virus therapies (such as oncolytic vaccinia
virus therapy) for the treatment of
cancer. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions of viruses (such as
vaccinia viruses), methods and uses of viruses (such as vaccinia viruses) for the treatment of
cancer, and nucleic acids encoding said viruses.