Carina Biotech

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Pictured: Carina Biotech CEO Dr Justin Coombs MTPConnect Chair Sue MacLeman, MTAA CEO Ian Burgess and Carina Biotech Director Ray Wood in April 2018 at the launch of BioMedTech Horizons in Melbourne.


Project title: CAR-T immunotherapies for solid cancers 

BMTH Round: One

State: South Australia

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy is an individually customised approach to cancer treatment that genetically engineers a patient’s own immune cells to react to a specific molecular marker on their cancer. 

CAR-T therapy has shown remarkable efficacy against some blood cancers, however, solid cancers (the majority of cancers diagnosed) have been far less responsive to date. Carina Biotech has produced CAR-T cells targeted to a molecular marker that has been reported in the literature to be present on many solid cancer cells while being largely absent in healthy cells. Carina's lead CAR-T cell has demonstrated in vitro cancer-killing activity against at least nine cancers across 14 cancer cell lines. 

It has also been shown to inhibit tumour growth in three animal models of human cancer. The BioMedTech Horizons grant will allow Carina to continue its work to achieve in vivo proof-of-concept for its lead CAR-T cell across more animal models of human cancer as the company moves towards its ambitious aim of a first-in-human clinical trial in 2020.


Visit Carina Biotech for more information.

Twitter: @CarinaBiotech

LinkedIn: Carina Biotech

Case Studies: 

Consortium LeadCarina Biotech
Consortium PartnersSeattle Children’s Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Women’s and Children’s Hospital Adelaide & CTM@CRC
FundingMTPConnect grant: $948,500
Industry contribution: $1,637,731
DurationMay 2018 - December 2020
OutcomesCarina Biotech fully realised the original aim to achieve in vivo proof-of-concept for nfP2X7 CAR-T cells across multiple models of human solid cancers. This allowed them to develop a commercial relationship with Biosceptre who plan to take nfP2X7-targeted CAR-T cells into clinical trials for solid cancers.
ContactDr Justin Coombs, Managing Director