Posted: 2 October 2024
Cartherics Pty Ltd (“Cartherics” or “Company”), a biotechnology company developing immune cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, is pleased to announce that it has successfully raised well over its target AU$15M in an oversubscribed financing round.
This funding will support the initiation of the clinical trial for CTH-401, the Company’s lead cell therapy product, aimed at treating ovarian cancer, as well as broadening its pipeline to include other disease indications.
Cartherics’ Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Alan Trounson AO commented: “The successful capital raising, in times of scant investment support in biotechnology, is welcome and further supports confidence in the company for the delivery of effective therapies in ovarian cancer and other difficult diseases.”
Despite advancements in surgical and chemotherapy treatments for ovarian cancer, survival rates remain very low. This is largely due to late diagnosis and the lack of options for patients who are refractory to approved therapies, highlighting the need for new treatment options for these patients.
CTH-401 is the only natural killer (NK) cell product currently under development that incorporates a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that targets the adenocarcinoma specific antigen, TAG-72. TAG-72 is a well-validated tumour marker that is widely expressed in a range of solid tumours, including ovarian, gastric, colorectal, prostate and pancreatic cancers.
Cartherics has demonstrated that CTH-401 is very effective in killing ovarian cancer cells in both tissue culture and animal models, with initiation of the first clinical trial planned for next year.
Cartherics’ Chairman, Bob Moses said: “We are eager to initiate the clinical trial for CTH-401, building on the promising results from our preclinical studies. This important milestone underscores our commitment to delivering innovative treatments for ovarian cancer and highlights the confidence our investors have in our vision to enhance patient outcomes and drive growth.”
The global market for ovarian cancer drugs is estimated at US$3.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$4.8 billion by 2030.[i] The natural killer cell therapeutics market was valued at US$350.5 million in 2024 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 41.70% to reach US$11.4 billion by 2034.[ii]
