Following a strategic review of its pipeline, Arovella Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ALA) has terminated its licence agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Centre for the DKK1-targeting technology as it concentrates on its invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cell therapy platform.
This decision enables the company to focus resources on its lead program, ALA-101 for CD19+ blood cancers, and the newly licensed ALA-105 for Claudin 18.2+ solid tumours, as well as its ongoing collaboration with Imugene Ltd, combining ALA-101 with Imugene’s onCARlytics platform, and the potential acquisition of a cytokine technology from the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Termination of the DKK1 licence agreement reduces expenses relating to ongoing licence fees and patent costs for the technology and there is no fee associated with terminating the licence agreement.
Products for high unmet need
Arovella CEO and MD Dr Michael Baker said: “The DKK1-targeting technology is a unique concept with great potential but it is yet to be validated in clinic as a target for cancer treatment.
“Our strategy is to focus on delivering best-in-class products to patients as efficiently and quickly as possible in cancers where there is a high unmet need.
“Our strategic review concluded that in addition to our lead asset ALA-101, the Claudin 18.2-targeting technology recently licensed from Sparx Group and the ongoing collaboration with Imugene are higher priorities for Arovella at this time.”
Arovella’s share price has been on a run this year, gaining more than 300% since January.