Arovella Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ALA) will collaborate with Imugene Ltd (ASX:IMU, OTC:IUGNF) in a new pre-clinical trial to test the potential of its lead CAR19-iNKT cell therapy product ALA-101 on Imugene’s onCARlytics platform to seek and destroy solid tumours.
Results from the pre-clinical study are expected in the first half of next year.
"We are excited to collaborate with Imugene to evaluate the potential of our iNKT product in combination with their onCARlytics product for the treatment of solid tumours," Arovella chief executive officer and managing director Dr Michael Baker said.
"Imugene's onCARlytics is one of the most promising products to be developed for solid tumours.
“We believe strongly in the unique capability of our iNKT program and look forward to seeing how ALA-101 performs in these models.
"Arovella is excited by the prospect of expanding its use of its iNKT cell therapy platform to treat solid tumours."
The company's shares have been as much as 52% higher to $0.041.
US$210 billion market
Arovella’s lead Natural Killer T (iNKT) product ALA-101 is being developed for CD19-producing blood cancers. ALA-101 contains a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) that targets tumour cells producing CD19 on their surface, which is typically seen in blood cancers.
Imugene's onCARlytics platform, meanwhile, enables solid tumour cancers to express CD19 on their surface, which creates the opportunity to use ALA-101 to seek and destroy the tumour cells.
Solid tumours represent 90% of diagnosed cancer cases. In 2021, the solid tumour treatment market was valued at US$210 billion.
Opens up possibility
Imugene chief executive officer and managing director Leslie Chong said: "Our onCARlytics platform opens up the possibility to treat solid tumours with existing CD19 targeting drugs. Solid tumours account for more than 90% of cancers diagnosed, and our technology has the potential to change the outcomes for these patients.
“We are excited to see how Arovella's iNKT cell platform and other drugs in our trial perform on the back of our platform. We are delighted to work with another Australian-based biotechnology company focussing on cancer treatment."
The research partnership is significant for Arovella as it includes the development of its iNKT cell therapy platform licensed from Imperial College London with Arovella’s onCARlytics CD19 oncolytic virus licensed from the City of Hope. The combination has the potential to be a novel approach to treating certain solid tumour cancers.
Arovella will fund the study from its research budget, which is expected to take 12 months.