TLDR
Melbourne biotech Cartherics has executed a research collaboration and option agreement with the Zucker Institute, the commercialisation arm of the Medical University of South Carolina. The deal pairs Cartherics' iPSC-derived CAR-NK cell platform with a novel anti-tissue factor antibody to pursue preclinical work in solid tumours and endometriosis.
Cartherics takes its cell therapy platform to a US cancer institute
Melbourne-based Cartherics executed a research collaboration and option agreement with the Zucker Institute, the commercialisation entity for the Medical University of South Carolina, on 1 September 2026.[1] The structure is a familiar one in biotech: one party brings the platform, the other brings the antibody, and an option mechanism hands the platform owner a licensed pathway if preclinical results hold up.
Under the agreement, the parties will combine Cartherics' iPSC-derived CAR-NK cell platform with a novel anti-tissue factor antibody developed by researchers at MUSC and the Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, targeting applications in cancer and endometriosis.[1] Cartherics will evaluate incorporating that antibody into next-generation TF-targeting CAR-NK cell therapies for solid tumours, with triple-negative breast cancer cited as one indication alongside potential endometriosis applications.[1]
Why tissue factor holds up as a target
Tissue factor is an FDA-validated oncology target: the agency granted traditional approval to tisotumab vedotin-tftv for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer on 29 April 2024.[2] Its expression across a broad range of solid tumours gives a tissue factor-targeting cell therapy a potentially wide addressable population, which is the commercial appeal.
MUSC's Assoc Prof John Wrangle said tissue factor is present on a huge number of cancers including ovarian cancer, and is integral to how cancers grow, survive and resist the best available therapies.[1]
What the option structure means commercially
Research collaboration and option agreements of this type typically include R&D service and manufacturing fees, an option fee to license the developed asset, upfront payments, success-based milestone payments, and royalties on net sales.[5] Cartherics bears development execution risk in exchange for a defined pathway to own the resulting assets commercially, if milestones are met.
Cartherics Chief Scientific Officer Dr Walid Azar said the collaboration provides an exciting opportunity to develop next-generation cell therapies for patients with limited treatment options, and that Cartherics is delighted to incorporate the innovative antibody technology into its established iPSC-derived CAR-NK cell platform.[1] TF CAR-NK cell products will be evaluated for efficacy using in vitro and in vivo human cancer and endometriosis models, with all work remaining preclinical for now.[1] Cartherics' existing lead product, CTH-401, is an iPSC-derived CAR-NK cell therapy carrying a CAR directed against TAG-72 and the deletion of two immunosuppressive genes.[4]
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