Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM) has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with world renowned cell therapy centre, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), for the first CDH17 CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T cell therapy.
The novel CDH17 CAR T cell therapy targets CDH17, an oncogenic factor associated with poor prognosis and metastasis in neuroendocrine tumours as well as the most common gastrointestinal tumours including colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer.
More than a decade of research and optimization has gone into development of the novel CDH17 CAR T cell therapy, developed by leading cellular immunotherapy scientist Xianxin Hua, MD, PhD, and his team. Dr Hua is a professor of Cancer Biology in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, an investigator at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and a Harrington Scholar Innovator. “Chimeric is incredibly excited to bring the CDH17 CAR T cell therapy into our pipeline. Our focus is on developing cell therapies that have the potential to be curative for patients and we believe that this CDH17 CAR T cell therapy has that transformative potential.
We are very much looking forward to working with Dr Hua and his team to bring this CAR T to the clinic as soon as possible,” said Jennifer Chow, Chimeric COO.
“The CDH17 CAR T cell therapy is a next or 3rd generation CAR T cell therapy that utilizes novel technology to specifically address the challenges of solid tumours. Preclinical studies of the CDH17 CAR T have demonstrated safety, with no toxicity to normal tissues, and promising efficacy with complete eradication of tumour cells and no relapse of the tumour.
“The preclinical studies indicate that our CDH17 CAR T marks the recognition of an entirely new class of solid tumour antigen targets, that are highly susceptible to CAR T attack on tumour cells yet masked from attack by the CAR T in normal tissues,” said Dr Hua.
Development is currently underway for a phase 1 clinical trial that is planned to begin in 2022 at the University of Pennsylvania. A three-year commitment for further research and development has been made to Dr Hua and Penn.
Under the terms of the license agreement, Chimeric Therapeutics acquires the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the CDH17 CAR T cell therapy for which it has agreed to pay Penn license fees, development milestones and royalty payments based on commercial net sales.
Upfront fees associated with the license agreement will be funded entirely from existing cash reserves. The University of Pennsylvania is a globally recognized leader in cellular immunotherapy and widely known for being home to the 1st FDA approved CAR T therapy.
The Chimeric team will be leveraging its unique cell therapy expertise to ensure the timely development and commercialization of the novel CDH17 CAR T cell therapy, bringing the promise of cell therapy and curative potential to more patients with cancer.