On March 15, 2022 Enochian BioSciences, a company focused on gene modified cellular and immune therapies for infectious diseases and cancer, reported that it has issued an exclusive sub-license of one of its proprietary technologies that could improve the effectiveness of a potential cure for HIV with an anti-HIV CAR-T therapy that Caring Cross is studying in a clinical trial (Press release, Caring Cross, MAR 15, 2022, View Source [SID1234610331]). Caring Cross is an innovative non-profit that partners with others, including for-profit companies, to increase access to new technologies and medicines under a collaborative value sharing model. Caring Cross and Enochian BioSciences entered into a profit-sharing agreement as part of the sub-license.
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The CAR-T approach being studied in humans was shown to cure HIV infection in an animal model that was published in the prestigious scientific journal, Science Translational Medicine. Based on those and other key data, Caring Cross received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to advance to clinical studies that are being conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Davis with funding from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. More details of the trial can be found at clinicaltrials.gov with the identifier NCT04648046.
"We are very excited that our clinical trial has now begun. Combining innovative technologies could significantly increase the effectiveness of our therapy in the future and therefore improve its access and affordability," said Dr. Boro Dropulic, the Executive Director of Caring Cross. "The technology acquired from Enochian BioSciences is an innovative strategy that could enhance the selection of the anti-HIV CAR-T cells, potentially increasing effectiveness, lowering cost and side effects, and increasing access to those in need. If it is shown to work in laboratory and animal evaluations, we would hope to pursue additional clinical studies combining our CAR-T therapy with Enochian BioSciences’ technology."
Dr. Mark Dybul, CEO of Enochian BioSciences, said: "Our Co-Founder and Inventor, Dr. Serhat Gumrukçu, has presented data at scientific meetings showing that our proprietary approach substantially increased the selection of different cell types, including in an animal model. We have seen similar results in the laboratory with T-cells, the key to CAR-T therapy. Therefore, we are enthusiastic that the exclusive sub-license issued to Caring Cross will prove to be effective, offering hope to many people living with HIV. While these studies proceed, we continue to pursue several other novel approaches to potentially cure HIV." View Source