15 November 2017 - - US-based cancer-focused biotechnology company ITUS Corp. (NASDAQ: ITUS) has executed an exclusive worldwide license agreement with The Wistar Institute for a Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) technology aimed initially at treating ovarian cancer, and eventually additional solid tumors, the company said.
ITUS has formed a subsidiary, Certainty Therapeutics, Inc., to develop and commercialize the innovative CAR-T technology. The Wistar Institute is a founding member of Certainty Therapeutics along with majority owner ITUS.
The CAR-T technology, exclusively licensed to Certainty, is initially focused on ovarian cancer, with potential future applications in prostate, pancreatic, and other cancers as well. The engineered T-cells will use the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to target ovarian cells that express the FSH-Receptor.
ITUS harnesses the immune system to fight cancer. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Anixa Diagnostics Corp., is developing the Cchek platform, a series of non-invasive blood tests for the early detection of solid tumor based cancers, which is based on the body's immunological response to the presence of a malignancy. Its majority owned subsidiary, Certainty Therapeutics, Inc., is developing CAR-T based immuno-therapy drugs which genetically engineer a patient's own immune cells to fight cancer.
The Wistar Institute is a nonprofit biomedical research organization with special expertise in cancer research and vaccine development. The Institute works actively to ensure that research advances move from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible.