Cartherics granted key patent in China for TAG-72 CAR gene-modified stem cells

Melbourne, Australia, 29 January 2026 - Cartherics Pty Ltd ("Cartherics" or "Company"), a biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf immune cell therapies focusing on high-impact women's diseases, with lead programs in ovarian cancer and endometriosis, is pleased to announce the granting of a second patent in China for "Genetically modified cells and uses thereof" by the Chinese Patent Office.

This patent extends the Company's proprietary position for its leading candidate and encompasses mammalian stem cells that have been engineered to incorporate the Company's chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology targeting the tumour-associated antigen, TAG-72.

The Chinese patent covers essential gene-editing features of the stem cells used in the manufacturing of Cartherics' lead product, CTH-401. The Company is manufacturing product for clinical trials in its newly-upgraded clean rooms and aims to initiate a first-in-human clinical trial in ovarian cancer patients in the second half of 2026.

The burden of ovarian cancer in China has shown an upward trend in the past 30 years, and the increase rate accelerated significantly in the last 5 years. In the next decade, ovarian cancer burden in China will continue to rise with a higher rate than the global level.

Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other type of gynaecological cancer in women. Developing new treatments is essential to reduce this burden, increase survival rates, and improve the quality of life for the growing number of people affected by ovarian cancer.

Cartherics' CEO, Dr Ian Nisbet commented: "We are pleased to see the issuance of another patent from our first patent family. This is a valuable addition to the patent portfolio supporting the development and commercialisation of our off-the-shelf cellular therapies for the treatment of cancer and endometriosis."

The granting of this patent in China materially strengthens Cartherics' global intellectual property portfolio, de-risks future commercialisation, and positions the Company to generate commercial value in a large, rapidly expanding oncology market.

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About Cartherics
Cartherics Pty Ltd is a privately held biotechnology company based in Melbourne, Australia developing off-the-shelf immune cell therapies focusing on high-impact women's diseases, with lead programs in ovarian cancer and endometriosis. The Company's allogeneic ("off-the-shelf") cell platform is based upon induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from donated cord blood that can be differentiated into NK cells, T cells and other cells of the immune system. The iPSCs are genetically engineered at specific "safe harbour" genomic sites to provide enhanced function for the derived NK and other immune cells. The Company's lead product, CTH-401, is a CAR-iNK cell product. It carries a CAR directed against TAG-72, a well-validated tumour target, along with the deletion of two genes associated with immunosuppression. The company has a strong pipeline of additional novel CAR-immune cell products tailored to disrupt a variety of cancers including; ovarian, triple negative breast cancer and other solid tumours; and is also targeting severe endometriosis with specific NK cell products.

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This release was published on openPR.