Cartherics to present CTH-401 ovarian cancer data at SITC 2026

Cartherics will present new CTH-401 data at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2026 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, with an oral talk and poster on its off-the-shelf iPSC-derived CAR-NK therapy for ovarian cancer. The company says IND-enabling studies are complete and a first-in-human trial is planned for early 2027, pending regulatory approval.

Why it matters: - Ovarian cancer causes more than 200,000 deaths worldwide each year. - Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. - Fewer than 30% of patients survive five years. - CTH-401 is designed as an off-the-shelf immune cell therapy, which could avoid the need to custom-make treatment for each patient. - Cartherics is aiming to bring the program into the clinic in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval.

What happened: - Cartherics said it will present an update on CTH-401 at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2026 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. - Deputy Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Keefe Chan will deliver an oral presentation and a poster. - The oral presentation is scheduled for Oral Abstract Session 2 on Friday, Nov. 6, from 3:58 p.m. to 4:13 p.m. Mountain Time. - The poster number is 161. - The presentation title is “CTH-401: Allogeneic iPSC-derived CAR-NK cells for the treatment of ovarian cancer.”

The details: - CTH-401 is made from induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs. - The therapy is engineered to target TAG-72, a protein found on ovarian and other adenocarcinomas with negligible expression on normal adult tissues. - The cells include two gene deletions, DGKα and DGKζ, which remove an internal brake that normally dampens natural killer cell function after activation. - Cartherics manufactures CTH-401 in its own clinical manufacturing facility in Melbourne. - The product is made in advance from a master cell bank. - The company says the therapy is designed to be manufactured at scale and delivered off the shelf, unlike autologous cell therapies made for each patient. - Key findings for the presentation include high-consistency production from a fully characterised, GMP-compliant master cell bank. - Laboratory studies showed CTH-401 killed TAG-72-positive cancer cells. - The gene deletions significantly improved resistance to tumour immunosuppression. - CTH-401 produced significant tumour control in a preclinical ovarian cancer model. - GLP toxicology studies showed an acceptable safety profile at dose equivalents well above the intended clinical range. - IND-enabling studies are complete. - Read the abstract published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.

Between the lines: - The presentation positions Cartherics as moving from preclinical development toward first-in-human testing. - In-house discovery, process development and manufacturing may give the company more control over quality, cost and timelines. - TAG-72 expression in colorectal, gastric and other adenocarcinomas suggests a possible path beyond ovarian cancer. - The company’s iPSC platform is also intended to support additional programs, including endometriosis. - Dr. Chan said the work reflects years of development, from gene editing iPSCs to building a scalable manufacturing process for an off-the-shelf iPSC-derived natural killer cell product.

What's next: - Cartherics plans a first-in-human ovarian cancer trial for early 2027, pending regulatory approval. - The company may expand CTH-401 into other solid tumors if future data support broader use. - Additional product programs from the iPSC platform could follow, including work in endometriosis.

The bottom line: - Cartherics is using SITC 2026 to showcase a lead ovarian cancer cell therapy that is preclinical, manufacturable at scale and nearing the clinic.