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Melbourne-based biotechnology company Cartherics has raised $15 million to help advance its mission to rearm the body’s immune system to fight cancer.
The oversubscribed round, which has been supported by new and existing investors, will be used by Cartherics to undertake the clinical trial for the company’s lead cell therapy, CTH-401, which initially aims to treat ovarian cancer before exploring its use for other diseases.
Cartherics is developing its immune cell therapies for the treatment of cancer by deriving its products from stemcells rather than cells from healthy donors.
“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,” says Cartherics’ CEO Professor Alan Trounson.
Cartherics says that 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,” says the company.
Cartherics’ CTH-401 is the only natural killer cell product currently under development that incorporates a chimeric antigen receptor that targets the adenocarcinoma specific antigen, TAG-72.
The company says 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”. The company plans to begin the first clinical trials of its lead cell therapy next year.
“We are eager to initiate the clinical trial for CTH-401, building on the promising results from our preclinical studies,” says Cartherics’ chairman Bob Moses.
“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.”
Cartherics notes that the global market for ovarian cancer drugs was estimated at US$3.5 billion ($5 billion) in 2023 and is projected to reach US$4.8 billion ($6.92 billion) by 2030.
However, the natural killer cell therapeutics market was valued at just US$350.5 million ($505.5 million) in 2024 but is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 41.7 per cent over the next 10 years to reach US$11.4 billion ($16.4 billion) by 2034.
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