Cartherics Pty Ltd (“Cartherics” or “Company”), a biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf immune cell therapies focusing on high-impact women’s diseases, with lead programs in ovarian cancer and endometriosis,  announced that it has executed a research collaboration and option agreement with the Zucker Institute (the commercialisation entity for the Medical University of South Carolina – MUSC).  Under the agreement, the parties will explore Cartherics’ iPSC-derived chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) platform in combination with a novel anti-tissue factor antibody developed by researchers at MUSC and the Regina Elena National Cancer Institute for potential applications in cancer and endometriosis.
 
Tissue factor (TF) is a coagulation factor that is highly expressed across a broad range of solid tumours, where it plays a critical role in tumour progression, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. TF is a clinically validated oncology target, with the recent FDA approval of a TF-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) for the treatment of cervical cancer[1].
 
Emerging research has also identified aberrant TF expression in endometriosis, highlighting the potential of TF-targeted therapies beyond oncology and opening a potential new therapeutic approach for this chronic and debilitating disease.

Assoc Prof John Wrangle, MD MPH, of MUSC, and Dr Alessandra Metelli, PhD, of the Regina Elena National Cancer Institute in Italy, developed a highly specific anti-TF antibody designed to provide an improved safety profile compared with currently available anti-TF antibodies. Assoc Prof Wrangle, Dr. Metelli, and their collaborators have demonstrated the potential of this antibody across multiple therapeutic applications.

Assoc Prof Wrangle said, “Tissue factor is an incredibly important and under explored target in cancer therapeutics.  We now know that tissue factor is not only present on a huge number of cancers including ovarian cancer, but also is integral to how cancers grow, survive, and resist our best therapies.  The purpose of Dr. Metelli and my science is to learn how to safely kill cancer cells that sustain themselves with tissue factor, and grateful to be partnering with Cartherics to utilize their incredible approach to off the shelf cellular therapy.”

Under this agreement, Cartherics will evaluate the incorporation of this novel antibody technology into next-generation TF-targeting CAR NK cell therapies for solid tumours, including triple-negative breast cancer, while also exploring potential applications in endometriosis. 

The TF CAR-NK cell products will be evaluated for both in vitro and in vivo efficacy using relevant human cancer and endometriosis models.

Cartherics’ Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Walid Azar commented: “We are delighted to incorporate this innovative antibody technology into Cartherics' established iPSC-derived CAR-NK cell platform. We believe this collaboration provides an exciting opportunity to develop the next-generation cell therapies for patients with limited treatment options and look forward to working closely with Assoc Prof Wrangle and Dr Metelli, whose expertise in tissue factor biology and their technology will be instrumental in advancing our program.”