Uppsala, Sweden, 5 November 2026 - Elicera Therapeutics AB (publ) today announces that the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has issued a notice of allowance for a patent application covering the company's CAR T-cell candidate ELC-401 for the treatment of glioblastoma. The patent will provide protection until 2041. Corresponding patent applications have previously been allowed in the United States and granted in Japan. Elicera has thereby secured intellectual property protection for ELC-401 in three of the world's largest pharmaceutical markets.
The patent application covers the component of the company's CAR T-cell therapy ELC-401 that binds to the protein IL-13Ra2. Elicera will hold the exclusive right to develop and commercialize treatments in China based on the technology behind ELC-401, strengthening protection for the drug candidate as well as for similar future products. Elicera also holds a previously granted Chinese patent covering the iTANK platform, meaning that both the tumor-targeting receptor and the iTANK arming of ELC-401 are now protected by patents in China. The patent is expected to be formally granted shortly and will remain in force until 2041.
"Alongside the United States, China is one of the world's leading countries in the development of CAR T-cell therapies and an important market for future partnerships. With today's announcement, ELC-401 now has patent protection in three of the world's largest pharmaceutical markets, and in China this is complemented by our previously granted patent for the iTANK platform. This strengthens our position ahead of the continued development of ELC-401 for glioblastoma, one of the most difficult-to-treat forms of cancer, and increases the candidate's attractiveness in discussions with potential partners," says Johan Liwing, CEO of Elicera Therapeutics
For further information please contact:
Johan Liwing, CEO, Elicera Therapeutics AB
Phone: +46 (0) 706 70 36 75
johan.liwing@elicera.com
Certified Advisor
DNB Carnegie Investment Bank (publ)
About Glioblastoma and ELC-401
Glioblastoma is the most aggressive primary brain tumor, with a median survival of approximately 15 months despite standard treatments (surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy). ELC-401 is designed to target IL13Ra2-positive tumors while using the iTANK platform to stimulate endogenous immune responses against additional tumor antigens, potentially overcoming heterogeneity and immunosuppression in GBM.
About the iTANK-platform
The iTANK technology platform has been developed for arming and enhancing CAR T-cells to meet two of the major challenges CAR T-cell therapies face in the treatment of solid tumors: a very diverse set of tumor antigen targets and a very hostile tumor microenvironment. The technology is used to incorporate a transgene into CAR T-cells encoding a neutrophil activating bacterial protein (NAP). NAP secreted from the CAR(NAP) T-cells has been shown to be able to enhance the function of CAR T-cells and importantly activating a parallel bystander immune response against the cancer via CD8+ killer T-cells. This is expected to lead to a broad attack against most antigen targets on cancer cells. The iTANK platform is used to enhance the company's own CAR T-cells but can also be universally applied to other CAR T-cell therapies under development. Proof-of-concept data was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering in April 2022. The publication, titled "CAR T cells expressing a bacterial virulence factor triggers potent bystander antitumor responses in solid cancers" (DOI number: 10.1038/s41551-022-00875-5) can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-022-00875-5. More information about iTANK platform is available here: https://www.elicera.com/technology
About Elicera Therapeutics AB
Elicera Therapeutics AB (publ) has developed the patented gene technology platform iTANK that enables the arming of new and existing CAR T-cell therapies targeting aggressive and relapsing cancer forms. Elicera Therapeutics thereby addresses a well-defined and vast market. The company's CAR T-cell therapies have shown a potent effect toward solid tumors which are recognized as particularly difficult to treat and constitute the majority of cancer cases. The company addresses a global multibillion market in cell therapy through its offering of non-exclusive licensing of the iTANK-platform to companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Elicera Therapeutics has four internal development projects in immune therapy that separately have the potential to generate substantial value through exclusive out-licensing agreements. The company's share is traded on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. For additional information, visit www.elicera.com.
