Eureka Therapeutics has announced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to their therapies, ET140203 and ECT204, for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is the most common form of liver cancer and typically occurs in patients with chronic liver diseases like cirrhosis or hepatitis B or C infections. The first investigational therapy, ET140203, is engineered to use ARTEMIS® T cells to express a TCR-mimic antibody that targets alpha fetoprotein (AFP)-peptide/HLA-A2 complex on cancer cells in the liver. The second investigational therapy, ECT204, is also an ARTEMIS® T-cell therapy and targets Glypican 3 (GPC3), an antigen found in HCC cells. The FDA Orphan Drug Act provides financial incentives for companies to develop potentially life-saving therapies and offers seven years of market exclusivity after approval. Eureka Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company that develops novel T cell therapies to treat solid tumors.
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