Imugene (ASX:IMU) has taken a significant step toward advancing its onCARlytics platform into the next phase of development, announcing a strategic collaboration with Shanghai-based biotechnology company JW Therapeutics to evaluate a novel combination approach designed to unlock the potential of CAR-T therapies in solid tumours.
The agreement brings together Imugene’s oncolytic virus CF33-CD19 (onCARlytics) and JW’s CD19-directed autologous CAR-T therapy, Carteyva, in a program that spans preclinical studies through to a Phase 1 investigator-initiated clinical trial in China.
For Imugene, the collaboration represents a significant validation of its onCARlytics technology, designed to overcome one of the biggest challenges in oncology, which is making solid tumours targetable by CAR-T cells.
The CF33-CD19 virus induces CD19 expression on tumour cells, effectively marking them for recognition and destruction by CD19 CAR-T therapies. The company describes this as a first-in-class 'mark and kill' strategy with the potential to extend the transformational impact of CAR-T beyond blood cancers.
Imugene Managing Director and CEO Leslie Chong said the partnership provides an efficient and strategically disciplined path to generate the clinical evidence needed to propel the platform forward. “This collaboration allows us to validate our onCARlytics platform in combination with an approved autologous CAR-T product,” Chong said. “We believe Carteyva®, which is already approved in blood cancer, is an ideal choice, and this initiative enables us to generate impactful data efficiently while exploring a breakthrough treatment paradigm for solid tumours.”
The program will begin with in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies before progressing to a Phase 1 investigator-initiated trial conducted exclusively in China across leading CAR-T clinical centres. Both companies emphasised that the collaboration includes defined go/no-go milestones to ensure disciplined capital allocation and preserve optionality for further development.