Arovella Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ALA) will present data summarising characterisation of its ALA-101 CAR-iNKT cell therapy at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in San Diego on April 8, 2024.
The data summarises two distinct phenotypes of cells within the drug product, each of which plays a different role in responding to tumour cells.
The ALA-101 CAR-iNKT cells were separated based on whether they produced CD4 on their surface (CD4+ vs CD4-).
Cells negative for CD4 (CD4-) were better able to kill target tumour cells via the CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR).
In contrast, CD4+ cells proliferated faster in response to CD19+ tumour cells. The two groups of cells also produced a different cytokine response in response to CAR activation.
The outcomes of these studies have shown encouraging results, supporting the potential benefit of having diverse subsets among CAR19-iNKT cells for treating CD19+ cancers.
Arovella’s proprietary iNKT manufacturing method is designed to maintain the highly cytotoxic CD4- population, thus maintaining a healthy balance of cells with different mechanisms of responding to tumour cells.
A copy of the poster abstract can be found at the following link: https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/20272/presentation/6025