Chimeric Therapeutics has strong bank balance to progress ground-breaking CAR-T cell therapies for solid tumours

Chimeric Therapeutics Limited (ASX:CHM) has entered 2021 with a strong bank balance following its well-received IPO as it progresses its ground-breaking CAR-T cell therapies for solid tumours.  The company, which listed on the ASX on January 18, 2021, is developing its oncology pipeline with novel cell therapy technologies that will provide benefit to cancer patients globally.  It successfully completed dosing of the first patient cohort in March 2021 in a Phase 1 dose-escalation study to evaluate the safety and maximum tolerated dose of its Chlorotoxin CAR T (CLTX CAR T) treatment in patients with recurrent or progressive glioblastoma (GBM).  The study aims to enrol 18-36 patients with MMP2+ recurrent or progressive GBM across four dose levels.  Swamped by investor support The clinical-stage cell therapy company received strong interest from institutional and sophisticated investors for its ASX listing, surpassing its target of raising $25 million. Chimeric Therapeutics executive chairman Paul Hopper said the original target was upped to $35 million after increasing interest from investors led to more than $90 million of bids received. He said: “I’ve raised a lot of money over the years, but I haven’t had a response to a capital raising like this. “We started out planning to raise $25 million and we were swamped, in fact, we had bids up to $94 million. “Because it was so heavily oversubscribed, we increased the book a little bit and took $35 million – and we’re quite pleased with the result.” CLTX-CAR T therapy Chimeric Therapeutics is developing ground-breaking CAR-T cell therapies for solid tumours based on scientific research conducted by leading US CAR-T experts at the City of Hope (COH) Cancer Centre in Los Angeles. CLTX CAR T uniquely utilises chlorotoxin (CLTX), a peptide derived from scorpion toxin, as the tumour-targeting component of the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) which has been shown in preclinical models to bind more broadly and specifically to GBM cells than other targeting domains like EGFR, HER-2 or IL-13. In preclinical models, CLTX CAR T demonstrated potent anti-tumour activity against glioblastoma while not exhibiting any off-tumour recognition of normal human cells/tissues, supporting a potentially optimal safety and efficacy profile. Staggered dosing As this is a first in human phase 1 cell therapy trial, the four patients dosed within this first cohort received staggered treatment, in accordance with FDA guidance. As the final patient of this first dose cohort successfully completes the DLT period, the study will begin to recruit patients for the next dose level which will introduce dual administration (ICT administration and intracranial intraventricular (ICV) administration) at a dose of 88 X 106 CAR T cells. Beyond safety and efficacy, the study aims to establish the recommended dosing for a Phase 2 trial. Well-funded The company is well funded and plans to conduct a patient study of 50 to 75 people following the completion of its Phase one clinical trial. Hopper said: “Depending what the signals are in the Phase 1 trial, we would look to go into a phase 2 in brain cancer as quickly as we can.” Experienced management team Although the company was only founded in 2020, the management team is experienced, according to research firm Edison. “They provide Chimeric with a greater level of experience than for many other firms at the same stage,” Edison added. Its chief operating officer is Jennifer Chow, an expert in the development and commercialisation of CAR T therapies. Prior to joining Chimeric, Chow was at Kite Pharma, the current leading CAR T company in the world. Chow has over 20 years of strategic and operational experience focused on oncology and hematology. Another cell therapy expert Dr Syed Rizvi is the company’s chief medical officer. Dr Rizvi has been focused on the development of CAR T therapies and was formerly with Legend Biotech where he was the head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs. Its board of directors is chaired by the founder of Chimeric Therapeutics, Paul Hopper, a successful bio entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in biotech, healthcare and life sciences focused on start-up and rapid growth companies. Also on the board: Dr Lesley Russell, a 25-year industry veteran with CMO and COO experience from Amgen, Cephalon and Eli Lilly; and Leslie Chong, the current CEO and managing director of Australian-based Imugene, a leader in the development of oncolytic viruses. Its Glioblastoma Scientific Advisory Board (GBM SAB) is led by Professor Christine Brown, who developed our CLTX-CAR T from her laboratory within the City of Hope Hospital. Joining Professor Brown on the GBM SAB are two distinguished scientists, Dr Nader Sinai and Dr Larry Couture. New appointments Chimeric has appointed Dr Yvonne Chen, associate professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),  to its scientific advisory board. Chen is focused on applying synthetic biology and biomolecular engineering techniques to develop robust cell-based therapies for otherwise intractable diseases. Chimeric also appointed biotech industry veteran Cindy Elkins as a non-executive director. Elkins brings more than 30 years of experience in the biotech and high tech industries, with roles at Juno Therapeutics, Genentech/Roche and Ariba It also appointed Dr Eliot Bourk as its vice president, Business and Corporate Development to drive the growth of its cancer therapy pipeline by advancing strategic business opportunities, initiatives and partnerships. Dr Bourk will lead business and corporate development, with a near-term focus on Chimeric Therapeutics additional novel cell therapies. Dr Bourk joins Chimeric from Kite Pharmaceuticals, where he led early commercial strategy, responsible for the optimisation of a portfolio of early-stage cell therapy pipeline assets and for guiding business development strategies and transactions.