• Cartherics has received a US$300K G-Rex grant to support its ‘in house’ manufacturing program

• Funding will enable Cartherics to generate crucial data required for its IND submission to the FDA for CTH-401, paving the way for clinical trials in ovarian cancer.

Melbourne, Australia, 18 December 2024 –  Cartherics Pty Ltd (“Cartherics” or “Company”), a biotechnology company focused on developing immune cell therapies for cancer and other diseases, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a US$300K G-Rex grant to support clinical manufacturing of its lead product CTH-401 for upcoming clinical trials.

The G-Rex® Grant Program is a US$20 million initiative by ScaleReady, Wilson Wolf Manufacturing, and CellReady, that is designed to propel the advancement of cell and gene therapies (CGT).

This grant will be used to purchase equipment and reagents to support Cartherics’ R&D and manufacturing programs, specifically platform assessment, method development and upscaling CTH-401 for clinical trials. Utilising the G-Rex system early in product development will also benefit Cartherics’ other drug candidates by helping to streamline the development process.

Cartherics’ CEO, Prof. Alan Trounson said: “We’ve taken an ambitious step to streamline our product R&D and manufacturing under one roof. This integrated approach positions us to seamlessly transition from pioneering pre-clinical research to clinical manufacturing — all within the same facility. The G-Rex Grant will play a crucial role in advancing our research and development efforts, bringing us closer to our goal of delivering innovative treatments to patients in need, particularly in the fight against cancer and other difficult diseases.”

Cartherics’ Head of Clinical Manufacturing, Dr Damien Zanker added: “Investing in our own manufacturing capability allows us to be more nimble in product development time, save money and further utilise the expertise of our scientists who have developed our manufacturing processes rather than being required to tech transfer capabilities with limited long term knowledge gain.”

“G-Rex is the ideal platform for the large-scale manufacture of Cartherics’ allo CAR-iNK cells. With the allo CAR-iNK’s having demonstrated complete eradication of human ovarian cancer cells in mice, we are eager to help Cartherics optimize manufacturing for application in human trials,” said John Wilson, co-inventor of G-Rex and CEO of Wilson Wolf and CellReady.

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About Cartherics

Cartherics Pty Ltd is a privately held biotechnology company based in Melbourne, Australia that is rearming the body’s immune system to fight cancer.  It is developing cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, with a portfolio of CAR-T and CAR-NK cell products.  The Company’s allogeneic (“off-the-shelf”) cell platform is based upon induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from donated cord blood that can be differentiated into NK cells, T cells and other cells of the immune system.  The iPSCs are genetically engineered at specific “safe harbour” genomic sites to provide enhanced function for the derived NK and other immune cells.  The Company’s lead product, CTH-401, is a CAR-NK cell product.  It carries a CAR directed against TAG-72, a well-validated tumour target, along with the deletion of two genes associated with immunosuppression.

https://cartherics.com/

 

About Wilson Wolf Manufacturing
Wilson Wolf (www.wilsonwolf.com) is dedicated to simplifying cell and gene-modified cell (CGT) therapy research, process development, and manufacturing.  This is being accomplished through its scalable G-Rex® technology, which is used throughout the world in CGT applications ranging from basic research to commercial drug production.

Wilson Wolf’s mission is to create hope for cancer patients, one G-Rex® device at a time.

 

About CellReady LLC
CellReady is the world’s first and only G-Rex® centric contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in G-Rex® based cell and gene-modified cell therapy development and manufacturing. The company offers a wide range of services to support the development and commercialization of these therapies.

CellReady’s mission is to create hope for cancer patients, one G-Rex® process at a time.

 

Media contact

Christine Filippis

Teraze Communications

Phone: +61 419 119 866

Email: christine@teraze.com.au