Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM) has formed a collaboration with Cell Therapies to explore the potential to manufacture Chimeric’s CAR T assets in Australia.
Cell Therapies is an Australian-based commercial contract development and manufacturing company, specialising in cell therapy, gene therapy, regenerative medicine, and cellular immunotherapy products.
CTPL’s facilities are co-located with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne’s Parkville Precinct and are Australia’s only biomedical manufacturing facility where CAR T-cells and other “living” cancer therapies can be made at a commercial scale.
Chimeric currently has four Phase 1/1b trials open across the United States and is exploring the addition of new sites in Australia.
“This is great progress for Chimeric and aims to provide Australian patients with access to our first in class CAR T clinical trials,” said Dr Rebecca McQualter, Chief Operating Officer of Chimeric Therapeutics.
“We are very pleased to work with Chimeric to bring their innovative CAR T products to Australian cancer patients in need,” said Dr Bev Menner, Chief Executive Office of Cell Therapies.
CHM CDH17 is developing the first-in-class, 3rd generation CDH17 CAR T which was invented at the world-renowned cell therapy centre, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in the laboratory of Dr. Xianxin Hua, professor in the Department of Cancer Biology in the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at Penn.
Preclinical evidence for CDH17 CAR T was published by Dr. Hua and his colleagues in March 2022 in Nature Cancer demonstrating complete eradication of tumours in 7 types of cancer in mice. CHM CDH17 is currently being studied in a phase 1/2 clinical trial in gastrointestinal and neuroendocrine tumours that was initiated in 2024.
CHM CLTX is a novel and promising CAR T therapy developed for the treatment of patients with solid tumours. CLTX CAR T is currently being studied in a phase 1B clinical trial in recurrent / progressive glioblastoma. Positive preliminary data from the investigator-initiated phase 1A trial in glioblastoma was announced in October 2023.
