Arovella Therapeutics (ASX:ALA) confirmed the functionality of its Claudin 18.2-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), which induces effective killing of CLDN18.2-positive pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer
cells when incorporated into invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells in an in-vitro serial tumor challenge assay, according to a Wednesday Australian bourse filing.
The study was designed to confirm the potency of the therapy against pancreatic and gastric cancer cells, the durability of cell killing after multiple challenges of cancer cells, and the expansion and effect of the inclusion of armoring, the filing said.
The inclusion of IL-12-TM armoring technology enhances the CLDN18.2 CAR-iNKT cell killing and resulted in better tumor control during repeated tumor challenges, killing over 97% and 82% of the pancreatic and gastric tumor cells, respectively, in four successive rounds, per the filing.
The company's shares rose nearly 3% in recent trading on Wednesday.