Chimeric Therapeutics has entered into a strategic manufacturing partnership with US-based biopharmaceuticals outfit WuXi Advanced Therapies to accelerate production of its cancer-fighting “CAR T” therapies. According to Chimeric, WuXi delivers extensive experience in Good Manufacturing Practices and analytical testing and it says the deal will allow it to scale up manufacturing support ahead of several clinical trial programs.
Chimeric will transfer certain manufacturing and analytical testing technologies to WuXi as part of the agreement and the company will use the information to ramp up production of Chimeric's cancer fighting treatments.
Chimeric’s CAR T cell therapy works by extracting blood from a patient and essentially “reprogramming it” to detect and destroy malignant cells before being re-infused back into the patient's bloodstream.
The method forms part of a larger area in the biotechnology sector called ‘immunotherapy’ which involves repurposing a patient's own cells to combat malignant cells.
WuXi will initially focus on accelerating the development of Chimeric’s two autologous CAR T-cell treatments for solid tumours CHM 1101 or ‘CLTX CAR T’ and CHM 2101 or ‘CDH17 CAR T’.
CHM 1101 is a cutting-edge cancer treatment aimed at combating glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord.
Glioblastoma mostly affects the elderly and causes headaches, nausea, vomiting and seizures. Chimeric claims its treatments could satisfy the medical needs of a large number of individuals plagued by the disease.
CHM 1101 is currently being tested in a single-site phase 1 clinical trial to treat patients with recurrent or progressive glioblastoma. Chimeric says the deal with WuXi will take advantage of the company’s scalable manufacturing and analytical testing capabilities and could support the program’s expansion to include multiple additional clinical trial sites and solid tumour indicators, including metastatic melanoma.
Chimeric’s other therapy, CHM 2101, is a treatment program that will look to target gastric and colorectal cancers.
CHM 2101 is in a late preclinical development stage for a variety of gastrointestinal cancers, including pancreatic tumours. Chimeric says it will lean on WuXi’s CAR T manufacturing capabilities to bolster its resources ahead of CHM 2101's first in-human study.
Interestingly, Chimeric is the only clinical stage cell therapy biotechnology company operating in Australia that focuses on discovery, development and the commercialisation of therapies that actually cure cancer and not just delay disease progression.
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By Matt Birney
