Biotechnology developer Arovella Therapeutics (ASX:ALA) has raised $2.2 million through a share purchase plan in order to advance the development of its invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell therapy program.

The company, which has a $41.64 market capitalisation, says the SPP was oversubscribed, and has elected to accept all oversubscriptions in full.

Following completion of the SPP, about 49.241 million new ordinary shares will be issued tomorrow (12 July 2023) to SPP participants.

“We remain optimistic about our iNKT cell platform and the potential that it holds for cancer treatment across blood cancers and solid tumours”

Funds are expected to be applied to the advancement of the company’s lead product, ALA-101, towards a phase one clinical trial for patients with CD19-positive Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as well as strengthen its iNKT cell therapy pipeline and provide general working capital.

The completion of the SPP marks only one of the ‘several critical milestones’ it looks to achieve over the coming 18 months.

Some of these other milestones include the reporting of an initial animal data on ALA-101 in combination with Imugene’s (ASX:IMU) onCARlytics, optimising and scaling-up its CAR-iNKT manufacturing process for phase one clinical trials, and completing investigational new drug (IND)-enabling non-clinical safety and efficacy studies.

Commenting on the SPP, Arovella Therapeutics Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Dr Michael Baker said: “We are thrilled with the support that we have received from our investor base. We remain optimistic about our iNKT cell platform and the potential that it holds for cancer treatment across blood cancers and solid tumours. We will continue to strive to accelerate our programs into the clinic and create shareholder value.”

Also speaking on the SPP, company Chairman Dr Tom Duthy says the company has its sights set on advancing this therapy into the clinic.

“This is an exciting time for Arovella and we look forward to advancing this important therapy into the clinic and to creating value for our supportive shareholders.”

Arovella Therapeutics is a biotechnology developer focused on developing its iNKT cell therapy platform from Imperial College London to treat blood cancers and solid tumours.

The company’s lead product is ALA-101, which consists of CAR19-iNKT cells that have been modified to produce a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) that targets CD19, which is an antigen found on the surface of numerous cancer types.