Professor Cameron Turtle to Clinical Advisory Board and Dr Sam Fiorenza to Lead Investigator
Improving its readiness for clinical trials due to start in Q3 CY26, Arovella Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: ALA) has appointed Professor Cameron Turtle to its Clinical Advisory Board and Dr Sam Fiorenza as the Lead Investigator for its first-in-human clinical trial for ALA-101 at The Alfred in Melbourne.
Professor Turtle is an internationally recognised leader in cellular immunotherapy and CAR-T cell development and has extensive experience with novel cell therapies in clinical trials. His appointment strengthens Arovella’s clinical strategy and first-in-human studies. He is the Professor and CLEARbridge Chair in Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Sydney and Medical Director of the Immune Effector Cell Service at Royal North Shore Hospital. Previously, he spent 17 years at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, where he became Professor and Anderson Family Endowed Chair for Immunotherapy and led clinical and laboratory research programs in CAR T-cell therapy for blood cancers.
Prof. Turtle’s work included early clinical studies of CD19 CAR T-cell therapies that helped inform the development of Breyanzi® (lisocabtagene maraleucel or liso-cel), a now-approved CD19 CAR T-cell therapy for several B-cell malignancies. His appointment strengthens Arovella’s clinical development expertise and access to global clinical, academic and pharmaceutical networks as the Company advances ALA-101, its lead CD19 CAR iNKT-cell program for blood cancers and autoimmune diseases.
Professor Turtle said “I am delighted to join Arovella’s Clinical Advisory Board at this stage in the clinical development of ALA-101 for haematological cancers. Despite the major advances achieved with T-cell therapies, important challenges remain, including timely patient access, manufacturing complexity, durability of response and tumour escape. ALA-101 has been designed with several important differentiating features, including its off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-iNKT platform and its potential for dual tumour antigen targeting. I look forward to working with the Arovella team as they advance this promising program into clinical evaluation for patients with CD19-positive blood cancers.”
Dr Fiorenza’s transition to Lead Investigator is based on his deep understanding of the ALA-101 program and ensures strong clinical leadership for the trial.
Arovella remains on track to commence the ALA-101 first-in-human trial in Q3 CY26.
Arovella’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr Nicole van der Weerden, said “Professor Turtle’s extensive experience in developing and delivering transformative cell therapies will be invaluable as we advance ALA-101 in the clinic. We also thank Dr Fiorenza for accepting the pivotal role of Lead Investigator for our first clinical study.”
Chairman David Williams said “Patients are desperate for a solution, including participating in what might be a breakthrough clinical trial and treatment. We owe it to those patients, their clinicians, and ourselves, to get into the clinic as soon as possible.”