Arovella Therapeutics (ASX:ALA) received ethics approval from The Alfred and Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committees to begin its phase 1 first-in-human clinical trial of ALA-101 drug candidate, a chimeric antigen receptor invariant natural killer T (CAR-iNKT) cell therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory lymphomas and leukemias, according to a Thursday Australian bourse filing.

The trial is expected to involve up to seven clinical sites across Australia and New Zealand, the filing said. It will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary anti-tumor activity of ALA-101.

The company remains on track to begin first patient dosing in the September quarter.

Arovella Therapeutics' shares fell past 1% in recent trading on Thursday and earlier hit their lowest since September 2023.