Arovella Therapeutics Ltd. announced that it has entered into an Exclusive Option to licence a cytokine technology for iNKT cells with the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. While early-stage, this novel technology represents a significant advancement in iNKT drug development and could further differentiate Arovella's iNKT cell technology. Additionally, the Option will increase the barriers to entry for other companies developing iNKT cell therapeutics.

Arovella is one of a handful of companies known to be developing therapeutics based on iNKT cells and is focused on ensuring they protect this position through option agreements and acquisitions. The technology under this Option incorporates the production of specialised cytokines in iNKT Cells. When iNKT cells produce these cytokines, preliminary data demonstrates more prolonged persistence and higher cell numbers.

The increased survival and number of iNKT cells may significantly enhance their capacity to kill solid tumour tumours. iNKT cells play an essential role in the immune surveillance of blood cancers, and the iNKT cell's glycolipid antigens rapidly act on CD1d. This stimulation and activation produces other immunomodulatory cytokines, increasing the effectiveness of other immune effector cells, such as NK cells and T cells, to support the elimination of cancer cells from the patient.

Professor Dotti pioneered the Initial work focused on using secreted IL-15 from CAR-iNKT cells. This proved effective and has been tested in clinical trials with promising results. To date, the cytokine that is the focus of the Option Agreement has not been combined with iNKT cells, and the preliminary data from Professor Dotti's research group at the University of North Carolina demonstrates that it causes iNKT cells to persist for longer and have profound effects against solid tumours, such as neuroblastoma.

Patents surrounding the technology have been filed, and the data from animal trials are being generated, which will determine if Arovella enters into a license agreement. The investment in the Option is not a material amount and the Option term is 15 months.