View the article in the CRC (Cooperative Research Centres Association) Association Newsletter here : CRC Association Newsletter

Cartherics’ cost-effective ‘off-the-shelf’ ovarian cancer therapy made from special donor umbilical cord blood samples is in the final stages of preclinical development.

By combining immunotherapy and stem cell research, we can manufacture Natural Killer (NK) cells that carry a cancer-targeting molecule called a Chimeric Antigen Receptor. The NK cells also have had deleted genes that inhibit the killing of solid tumours as in ovarian cancer.

Already, we can make more than 100,000 million NK cells from one vial of prepared umbilical cord cells, or iPSCs. This will potentially treat many cancer patients very affordably, with repeated doses if necessary. Our iPSC master cell bank will be created next year, and we expect to seek regulatory approval for clinical trials beginning in 2022.

Cartherics leads a CRC-P in partnership with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Mesoblast Ltd and Cell Therapies Pty Ltd.

Alan Trounson, Cartherics CEO and Executive Director, Melbourne.