CLEVELAND—Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) has completed an exclusive license agreement with Atlanta-based RORA Biologics Inc. (RORA-Bio) for intellectual property to develop new therapies to treat HIV and certain kinds of cancer.
The agreement gives RORA-Bio exclusive international rights to T-cell memory stem-cell (RORA cells) technologies developed by Rafick Sekaly, formerly a professor at the CWRU School of Medicine, and co-director of the Center for AIDS Research Proteomics and Systems Biology Core.
Sekaly and colleagues have pioneered groundbreaking discoveries in HIV disease progression, T-cell memory and HIV-persistence mechanisms.
RORA cells are a newly discovered, durable T-cell population associated with positive clinical outcomes in patients. Chimeric antigen receptortherapy (CAR-T) is a way for T cells—a type of white blood cell—to be altered in a lab to find and destroy cancer cells, according to the American Cancer Society. RORA-Bio is using RORA cells to make novel, “first-in-class” CAR-T drugs with potential to direct more persistent attacks against tumor cells.
Gene-edited RORA cells made to resist infection are being tested for potential to offer long-term protection against the virus.
The exclusive worldwide license is in exchange for equity and other payments for products developed with the technology.
“We are eager for RORA-Bio to develop cell-based therapies for HIV and cancer using CWRU’s technology,” said Stacy Fening, of Case Western Reserve’s Office of Technology Transfer, who managed the transaction. “The license, through a series of product development milestones, drives RORA-Bio to do just that.”
“This license with Case Western Reserve University is key to helping us facilitate development and test new CAR-T and anti-HIV drugs that are potentially more long-lasting and with less side-effects than current therapies,” said RORA-Bio Interim CEO Randy Berholtz.
###
About Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is one of the country’s leading private research institutions. Located in Cleveland, we offer a unique combination of forward-thinking educational opportunities in an inspiring cultural setting. Our leading-edge faculty engage in teaching and research in a collaborative, hands-on environment. Our nationally recognized programs include arts and sciences, dental medicine, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing and social work. About 5,800 undergraduate and 6,300 graduate students comprise our student body. Visit case.edu to see how Case Western Reserve thinks beyond the possible.
About RORA Biologics, Inc RORA-Bio is an Atlanta-based biotechnology company using a recently discovered T-cell memory stem cell population (RORA cells) to build novel CAR-T and anti-HIV therapy drugs. RORA-Bio’s first-in-class CAR-T and anti-HIV therapy drugs are being developed to provide better durability and safety for patients suffering from cancer and HIV infection. For more information please visit: www.rorabio.com
