Working closely with Phenomics Australia Scientific Director and node leader Prof. Simon Barry, Carina Biotech is revolutionising cancer treatment through the development of CAR-T therapies.
Carina Biotech is an Australian clinical-stage immunotherapy company established to research and develop chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapies for the treatment of solid cancers.
A solid cancer occurs when abnormal tissue grows uncontrollably, forming a localised lump or growth within the body. Unlike blood cancers, solid cancers develop in organs, glands, and bones, and account for 90% of adult cancers. Solid tumours create barriers to drug delivery and treatment efficacy, including abnormal tumour blood vessels and tumour cell diversity. These barriers complicate treatment options and combination therapies.
CAR-T therapy is a revolutionary treatment that harnesses a patient’s immune system to fight cancer. CAR-T cells are derived from a patient’s own T cells, which are key components of the immune system. These T cells are isolated from a blood sample and genetically modified to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on their surface. This CAR is designed to recognise specific markers on cancer cells.
Phenomics Australia node leader, Prof. Simon Barry, and the Functional Genomics South Australia (FGSA) have been working closely with Carina Biotech to support the progression of a CAR-T virus (CNA3103) from R and D and pre-clinical stages to enable clinical trial development and GMP. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) ensures safety while creating an environment that supports innovation, guaranteeing quality control whilst accelerating the development and increasing availability of CAR-T cell products. CNA3103 is the first Australian discovered CAR-T therapy to successfully achieve US FDA IND status for metastatic Colorectal Cancers.
Several additional CAR-T viruses are also currently in development, with the aim of advancing them to clinical application in the future.
Following the discovery by Professor Barry’s team of targets of human FOXP3, a transcription factor protein involved in regulating immune responses, which is required to maintain regulatory T cell (Treg) function, the “brakes” of the immune system, they have applied functional genomics approaches to identify key genes in human Tregs and to validate their biological importance both in vitro and in vivo. Building on this expertise in transcriptional regulation, together with the FGSA node’s capabilities in the production of lentiviral and retroviral vectors, the team is now developing CAR Treg viruses for autoimmune disease therapy.
Through the Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics (VCFG) at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research (Perkins), and through the ANU Centre for Therapeutic Discovery (ACTD, The John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU), the Monash Functional Genomics Platform (MFGP) at Monash University, and at the Functional Genomics South Australia (FGSA) at the University of Adelaide (in partnership with SAHMRI), Phenomics Australia Functional Genomics and High-throughput screening services enable biomedical researchers Australia-wide with the ability to perform novel discovery-based screens using multiple platforms.
