Eureka Therapeutics Announces UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals as First California Site for ARYA-2 Clinical Trial Targeting Pediatric Liver Cancers

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel T-cell therapies to treat cancer, today announced the activation of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals as the first California site to join the ARYA-2 clinical trial (NCT04634357).

The ARYA-2 trial is evaluating Eureka’s investigational ARTEMIS® ET140203 T-cell therapy which targets the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-peptide/HLA-A2 complex. This therapy is designed to treat pediatric subjects (1 to 21 years) with relapsed or refractory liver cancer, including hepatoblastoma (HB), hepatocellular neoplasm not otherwise specified (HCN-NOS), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

“Multiply relapsed or refractory liver cancers in children and adolescents are highly complex and lack effective treatment options, especially given the rarity of these conditions,” said Dr. Arun Rangaswami, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and a senior solid tumor faculty member at UCSF. “We are excited to collaborate with Eureka to bring the promise of next-generation engineered T-cell therapy to this pediatric population with high unmet medical needs.”

“We are proud to contribute to the collaborative effort aimed at developing cutting edge therapies for treating pediatric cancer,” said Dr. Abla Creasey, PhD, Vice President of Therapeutics Development, at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). “Our recent $10.6 million grant towards Eureka’s ARYA-2 program underscores our commitment to improving the lives of young patients battling cancer.”

“Our ARTEMIS T-cells are designed to overcome challenges in safely and effectively treating solid tumors,” said Dr. Cheng Liu, President and CEO of Eureka Therapeutics. “UCSF’s participation significantly accelerates progress in bringing this potentially life-saving therapy to young patients with liver cancer.”

This expansion builds upon Eureka’s ongoing efforts with the ARYA-2 trial, which is also actively recruiting patients at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. For more information on the ARYA-2 trial, Eureka’s T-cell therapy platform, and the potential of this treatment, please visit eurekaconnectme.com.

ABOUT EUREKA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel T-cell therapies to treat cancers. Its core technology centers around its proprietary ARTEMIS® cell receptor platform and E-ALPHA® antibody discovery platform for the discovery and development of potentially safer and more effective T-cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The company currently has two clinical programs, ET140203 (ARYA-1 for adults and ARYA-2 for pediatrics) and ECT204 (ARYA-3), in Phase I/II US trials in patients with advanced liver cancer.

Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information on Eureka, please visit www.eurekatherapeutics.com. ARTEMIS and E-ALPHA are registered trademarks owned by Eureka.

About the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)

At CIRM, we never forget that we were created by the people of California to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs, and act with a sense of urgency to succeed in that mission. To meet this challenge, our team of highly trained and experienced professionals actively partners with both academia and industry in a hands-on, entrepreneurial environment to fast track the development of today’s most promising stem cell technologies. With $5.5 billion in funding and more than 150 active stem cell programs in our portfolio, CIRM is one of the world’s largest institutions dedicated to helping people by bringing the future of cellular medicine closer to reality. For more information go to www.cirm.ca.gov