Posted: 17 December 2024
INOVIQ Limited (ASX:IIQ or INOVIQ) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed stage 1 of its development program for an exosome therapeutic for breast cancer. In this in vitro proof-ofconcept (POC) study, immortalised natural killer (NK) cells were engineered to continuously produce exosomes that specifically target and kill breast cancer cells. The specific targeting was achieved by incorporating a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on the surface of the exosomes. This receptor recognizes and binds to a protein that is overexpressed by breast cancer cells. This innovation allows the killing activity of CAR-NK-exosomes to be directly delivered to breast cancer cells, increasing therapeutic efficacy and reducing off-target effects (to non-cancer cells).
INOVIQ’s proprietary technology1 was utilised to isolate CAR-exosomes released by immortalised NK cells. Treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer, with CAR-NK-exosomes resulted in dose dependent cancer cell death (Figure 1). At the highest dose evaluated, CAR-NK-exosomes killed over 30% of breast cancer cells and showed significantly greater efficacy than exosomes isolated from NK cells as reported in other studies2
INOVIQ has established a robust production process to prepare therapeutic exosomes that target and kill breast cancer cells. The Company will now enhance the tumour killing activity of these exosomes by pre-stimulating cells with activators. Optimal dosing and tumour killing activity will then be evaluated in animal models, as a prequel to preclinical studies.
CSO Prof Gregory Rice said: “INOVIQ’s team has delivered significant progress in the complex task of successfully developing a robust and reproducible CAR-exosome production process. The results obtained in this POC are impressive, comparing very favourably with previously published data. I believe that further enhancement of cancer killing activity is realistically achievable. INOVIQ has established its CAR-exosome platform and is well placed to deliver in vivo data on the anti-tumour efficacy of its CAR-NK-exosome breast cancer therapeutic in CY25.”
CEO Dr Leearne Hinch stated: “The results of this POC study highlight the transformative potential of INOVIQ’s exosome therapy to target and kill solid tumours. We are thrilled by these POC results that show the potential of our exosome program to provide a life-saving breast cancer therapeutic for patients. We will advance our exosome therapy through additional in vitro and in vivo studies next year, moving towards Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies and clinical trials. We are also engaging with product development and regulatory consultants to refine our manufacturing and development strategy.”
