Prescient Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:PTX) has signed an agreement related to advancing a new research program with world-renowned Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to advance its next-generation CAR-T program utilising the OmniCAR platform.
Prescient has an existing research agreement with Peter Mac focusing on Cell Therapy Enhancement program, which seeks to improve current generation CAR-T approaches.
This new agreement expands the Prescient and Peter Mac research relationship to include development of the next generation OmniCAR platform.
Next-gen modular platform
CAR-T is a revolutionary cancer treatment that involves removing immune cells from a cancer patient, reprograming them in a lab to recognise and attack cancer cells and then infusing them back into the patient.
OmniCAR platform, a next-generation modular CAR-T platform, seeks to overcome the limitations of current generation CAR-T approaches by giving clinicians greater control, safety, flexibility and efficacy as well as the potential to improve CAR-T performance against solid tumours.
The company is developing three OmniCAR programs internally, including next-generation CAR-T therapies for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML); Her2+ solid tumours and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
“Delighted to deepen ties”
Prescient CEO and managing director Steven Yatomi-Clarke said: “We are delighted to deepen our ties with a world-class institute in Peter Mac.
“Prescient is committed to developing all three OmniCAR programs expediently, and to the highest standard.
“This latest research program with Peter Mac is an important part of Prescient’s development plans, which include institutional and commercial laboratories.
“We continue to work very closely with Professor Darcy and the team at Peter Mac as we progress this exciting development of controllable and adaptable next-generation CAR-T therapies.”
Prescient is developing OmniCAR as a CAR-T platform, capable of being deployed by other CAR-T and oncology companies under licence to advance their own programs.
Under the terms of the Peter Mac OmniCAR contract research agreement, Prescient will have access to the world-class expertise and facilities of Peter Mac, led by international CAR-T expert, Professor Phil Darcy, to undertake part of the OmniCAR preclinical development programs.
Resulting intellectual property
Prescient will own any resulting intellectual property from the work.
This partnership with Peter Mac now includes two post-doctoral scientists and two research assistants who are dedicated full time to Prescient work.
The company has also secured grant funding of $100,000 from the Federal Government’s Innovation Connections scheme towards this research.
Global leader in CAR-T
Peter Mac is at the global forefront of CAR-T treatment, research and manufacturing.
Cell TherapiesPty Ltd – which is based at the Melbourne site of majority shareholder Peter Mac – is the Asia Pacific region’s only manufacturer of approved CAR-T therapies.
In 2019, Peter Mac’s Centre of Excellence in Cellular Immunotherapy attracted $105 million – including $80 million from the Federal Government – to establish a dedicated CAR-T clinical unit and expand capacity for CAR-T manufacturing and clinical trials.
Current generation CAR-T therapies have demonstrated unprecedented efficacy in certain blood cancers, but face several challenges, including manufacturing costs and logistics, safety, control and limitations in targeting solid tumour cancer antigens.
Professor Phil Darcy said: “CAR-T is a breakthrough treatment that can be life-saving for blood cancer patients who have limited treatment options, and the great challenge now is to find a way to replicate this in solid tumours.
“We are excited by the opportunity and potential offered by the OmniCAR platform to make headway into solid tumours and other blood cancers, and to greatly enhance and improve the clinical control and efficacy of existing CAR-T cancer therapies.”