July 24, 2026 —
Estrella Immunopharma announced that the first patient has been dosed in the dose-expansion phase of STARLIGHT-1, its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating EB103 in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or B-cell NHL.
EB103 is a CD19-redirected ARTEMIS® T-cell therapy designed to bind and destroy CD19-positive cancer cells. The therapy uses ARTEMIS technology licensed from Eureka Therapeutics, Estrella’s parent company.
The start of the expansion phase follows encouraging dose-escalation data. At the six-month assessment of evaluable Phase 1 patients with no central nervous system involvement, all patients who had achieved a complete response remained in complete response.
The dose-expansion phase is designed as a multicenter, open-label study evaluating the safety and efficacy of EB103 at the recommended Phase 2 dose. The study is enrolling adults aged 18 years and older with relapsed or refractory B-cell NHL.
Data from the expansion cohort are expected to help determine the pivotal trial strategy for EB103. Current active clinical sites include UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and Baylor Scott & White Research Institute.
EB103 differs from traditional CAR-T cell therapy through the ARTEMIS T-cell design. According to Estrella, ARTEMIS T cells are activated and regulated upon engagement with cancer targets using a cellular mechanism that more closely resembles endogenous T-cell receptor signaling.
This design is intended to support controlled T-cell activation while retaining tumor-targeting activity against CD19-positive malignancies. Once infused, EB103 T cells recognize CD19-positive cancer cells and mediate their destruction.
The STARLIGHT-1 expansion phase marks an important development step for Estrella as it seeks to further characterize EB103’s clinical profile in relapsed or refractory B-cell NHL and define a potential path toward pivotal testing.
Estrella is also developing CD19- and CD22-targeted ARTEMIS T-cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, reflecting broader interest in next-generation engineered T-cell platforms beyond conventional CAR-T designs.
