Arovella Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ALA) has raised $2.2 million in its oversubscribed share purchase plan (SPP) and will issue a total of 49,241,018 new ordinary shares on July 12 to participants.
The biotechnology company, which is focused on developing its invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cell therapy platform, will use the money to advance its lead product, ALA-101, towards a Phase 1 clinical trial for patients with CD19-positive Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The company will also strengthen its iNKT cell therapy pipeline.
Arovella is developing its invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell therapy platform from Imperial College London to treat blood cancers and solid tumours and is also expanding its DKK1-peptide targeting technology licensed from MD Anderson and used in conjunction with its iNKT cell therapy platform.
Lead product ALA-101 consists of CAR19-iNKT cells that have been modified to produce a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) that targets CD19. CD19 is an antigen found on the surface of numerous cancer types.
iNKT cells also contain an invariant T cell receptor (iTCR) that targets α-GalCer bound CD1d, another antigen found on the surface of several cancer types. ALA-101 is being developed as an allogeneic cell therapy, which means it can be given from a healthy donor to a patient.
“We are thrilled with the support that we have received from our investor base," Arovella CEO and managing director Dr Michael Baker said. "We remain optimistic about our iNKT cell platform and the potential that it holds for cancer treatment across blood cancers and solid tumours.
"We will continue to strive to accelerate our programs into the clinic and create shareholder value.”
Milestones to come
Over the coming 18 months, Arovella expects to achieve several critical milestones, including:
- reporting initial animal data on ALA-101 in combination with Imugene’s onCARlytics (H2 CY23);
- optimising and scaling up its CAR-iNKT manufacturing process suitable for phase I clinical trials, including completing cGMP manufacture of its lentiviral vector (H2 CY23);
- completing Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling non-clinical safety and efficacy studies (H1 CY24);
- manufacturing clinical batches for phase I clinical trials (H1 CY24);
- securing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA and/or regulatory filing with TGA to conduct a phase I clinical trial in Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (H2 CY24).