BriaCell Therapeutics has received a research grant from the US federal government's principal agency, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to accelerate the development of its personalised off-the-shelf immunotherapies cancer platform.

The non-dilutive fund grant is named "An off-the-shelf tumour cell vaccine with HLA-matching alleles for the personalised treatment of advanced solid tumours".

The funds will be used by the company to advance the development of its new personalised off-the-shelf immunotherapies, Bria-OTS, targeting advanced metastatic breast cancer, melanoma, prostate cancer and lung cancer.

BriaCell is integrating 15 different HLA types (molecules) into Bria-IMT, collectively known as Bria-OTS, facilitating the compatibility of over 99% of advanced breast cancer patients.

A simple saliva test helps identify the HLA type of every patient.

Each patient will later receive the suitable pre-manufactured Bria-OTS formulation as part of their treatment.

BriaCell president and CEO Dr William Williams stated: “There is an urgent need for breakthrough cancer treatments that would improve both survival and quality of life of cancer patients, especially in those with advanced disease.

“Our clinical findings to date show promising top-line survival and quality of life outcomes in patients treated with our personalised immunotherapy.

“We would like to thank NCI for its generous support, recognising the urgency for this unmet medical need, and considering our novel technology, among numerous other applicants, as a treatment that could potentially revolutionise cancer care.”

The NCI award is expected to facilitate non-dilutive funding opportunities in the future.