# Preclinical development of CM-CX1 for the treatment of ovarian clear cell and renal cell carcinomas

> **NIH NIH R44** · CELDARA MEDICAL, LLC · 2021 · $274,085

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Over the years, a number of conventional cytotoxic
approaches for neoplastic diseases has been developed. However, due to their limited effectiveness in
accordance with the heterogeneity of cancer cells, there is a constant search for therapeutic approaches with
improved outcome, such as immunotherapy that utilizes and enhances the normal capacity of the patient's
immune system. Of note, renal cell carcinoma and ovarian cancer are considered immunogenic, or “hot”
cancers, in that tumors are infiltrated with T cells. This provides optimism that the immune system can be
harnessed to be a potent and durable weapon against these cancers.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy represents a major advancement in personalized cancer
treatment. In this strategy, a patient's own T cells are genetically engineered to express a synthetic receptor
that binds a tumor antigen. We have developed a CAR T cell therapy, CM-CX1, designed to target a very
specific marker (TIM-1) in renal and ovarian cancers. Expression of TIM-1 in healthy tissues is limited to
absent. The goal of this Fast Track proposal is to finalize the preclinical work required for CM-CX1 filing of
an IND for first-in-human evaluation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10323957
- **Project number:** 1R44CA265424-01
- **Recipient organization:** CELDARA MEDICAL, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Joana M Murad
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $274,085
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-08 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10323957

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10323957, Preclinical development of CM-CX1 for the treatment of ovarian clear cell and renal cell carcinomas (1R44CA265424-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10323957. Licensed CC0.

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