Eutilex, a Korean biotech firm, said it would conduct a clinical trial to develope a home-grown chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy. 

The company said on Wednesday the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved its plan to test EU307, an investigational CAR-T therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in a phase 1 study. 

EU307 targets GPC3-positive solid cancer. The experimental drug is expected to improve the viability of CAR-T cells and their ability to attack cancer cells through the secretion of cytokine (IL-18). GPC3 is known to be overexpressed in solid cancers including HCC.

Eutilex CEO Kwon Byoung-se said the MFDS’ latest nod for the phase 1 trial helped the company’s all core immunotherapy pipelines -- antibody treatment, T-cell therapy, and CAR-T therapy -- enter clinical trials simultaneously.

Novaris’ Kymriah (ingredient: tisagenlecleucel) is a famous CAR-T therapy known as a “miraculous treatment” with strong therapeutic effects. 

In Korea, companies including Curocell and Abclon are conducting trials of CAR-T therapies.