Arovella Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ALA) has received a $3 million research and development (R&D) rebate from the Federal government for its work in developing a cancer-treating cell therapy, with a further $0.3 million expected in the coming months.

The latter amount relates to eligible expenditure which was actually covered by an overseas finding received after Arovella lodged its income tax return (which had yielded the $3M refund).

The total cash will enable the company to push ahead with plans to get its main asset ALA-101 – a cell therapy aimed at treating blood cancers and solid tumours – into first-in-human clinical trials.

ALA-101 is developed around CAR19-iNKT cells that have been modified to producea Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) that targets CD19 – the latter being an antigen found on the surface of many types of cancer.

CEO and managing director Dr Michael Baker said the rebate would support development of the product.

“The R&D Tax Incentive scheme provides valuable support for companies such as Arovella and we look forward to using these funds to advance our programs towards the clinic,” he said.

At 13:47 AEDT, Arovella shares were trading at $17.2 cents – a fall of 1.43% since the market opened.

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