Xenetic announces clinical study of DNase I with CAR T therapy

TEL AVIV - Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIO), a small-cap biotechnology company with a market capitalization of $5.17 million and strong liquidity position, announced Wednesday that its collaboration partner PeriNess Ltd. has entered into a Clinical Study Agreement to explore DNase I in combination with anti-CD19 CAR T cells for patients with large B cell lymphoma. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains a healthy current ratio of 8.2, indicating robust short-term financial stability.

The exploratory clinical study will be conducted at the Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center under the leadership of Dr. Ron Ram, Professor of Medicine and Head of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit.

According to the press release, the primary objective is to assess safety and tolerability of DNase I when administered as an adjuvant to anti-CD19 CAR T therapy in patients with stable or progressive large B-cell lymphoma. Secondary objectives include measuring complete response rate, duration of response, and overall survival.

Dr. Ram noted that patients with stable or progressive disease at the time of CAR T infusion have a one-year progression-free survival of only 20-30%, compared to 60-80% for those with partial or complete response before infusion.

"Our preclinical studies show that co-administration of DNase I with anti-CD19 CAR T cells significantly reduce tumor burden, delay tumor relapse and substantially prolong survival compared to the anti-CD19 CAR T cell monotherapy," said Alexey Stepanov, PhD, Institute Investigator at the Scripps Research Institute and member of Xenetic’s Scientific Steering Committee.

The study will explore how DNase I may degrade Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs), which have been associated with negative outcomes in lymphoma patients.

This agreement follows Xenetic’s December 2024 Clinical Trial Services Agreement with PeriNess for exploratory studies of recombinant DNase I as an adjunctive treatment in patients with pancreatic carcinoma and other advanced solid tumors. Based on InvestingPro Fair Value analysis, XBIO currently appears undervalued, making it potentially interesting for investors following clinical development progress. Discover more undervalued opportunities at Most Undervalued Stocks.

In other recent news, Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. has announced an extension of its research collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute. This partnership aims to further develop Xenetic’s DNase-based oncology platform in conjunction with CAR T-cell therapies. The expanded program will now include additional models of lymphoma and leukemia to validate earlier findings. Previous research at Scripps indicated that combining DNase I with CAR-T cells significantly reduced tumor burden and improved survival rates compared to using CAR-T cell therapy alone. These developments highlight Xenetic’s ongoing efforts to enhance cancer treatment strategies. The collaboration underscores the potential of integrating DNase I with existing therapies for better clinical outcomes. Investors may find this expansion noteworthy as it reflects the company’s commitment to advancing its oncology platform.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.