Eutilex said Wednesday that it obtained a patent for the malignancy variant receptor (MVR) CAR-T (chimeric-antigen receptor T) therapy in the United States.

The company’s CAR-T cell therapy for MVR targets overexpressed HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen)-DR in tumors.

Existing CD19 CAR-T therapy kills tumor cells and B cells, inducing cytokine storm. However, Eutilex’s newly patented drug only targets cancer cells without attacking normal cells, which significantly lowers the rate of side effects and cytokine production.

Utilex expects its MVR CAR-T therapy to overcome the limitations of the existing CD19 CAR-T therapy.

“With the acquisition of the U.S. patent, we have laid a foundation for our MVR CAR-T cell therapy to advance into the global market,” a Eutilex official said. “We plan to win patents in major countries to enter the global market safely and quickly as our cell therapy has shown excellence compared to rival drugs in many animal experiments.”

Eutilex also signed a deal to develop and manufacture clinical agent EU505, which is under development as double-antibody immunotherapy.

The company official explained that it could not disclose who the partner is, and the exact period for submitting an investigational new drug application has not been decided yet.