On March 4, 2022 Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM, "Chimeric"), a clinical-stage cell therapy company and an Australian leader in cell therapy, is pleased to announce that it has entered a strategic partnership with Be The Match BioTherapies, an organization offering supply chain solutions for companies developing and commercializing cell and gene therapies (Press release, Chimeric Therapeutics, MAR 4, 2022, View Source [SID1234609509]).
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Be The Match BioTherapies provides end-to-end services that ensure expedited collection, transport and delivery of cellular starting material and clinical drug product, which will support Chimeric’s expanded clinical development of CHM 1101 (CLTX CAR T).
CHM 1101 (CLTX CAR T) is currently being evaluated in a single-site phase 1 clinical trial to treat patients with recurrent or progressive glioblastoma. This new partnership with Be The Match BioTherapies will enable the accelerated expansion of the program to additional clinical trial sites.
To support the advancement of CHM 1101 (CLTX CAR T), Be The Match BioTherapies will draw on more than 30 years of experience in collection network, supply chain and logistics management developed by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) /Be The Match. Be The Match BioTherapies plans to leverage its established relationships and resources, including its Quality System Audit Program (QSAP), to swiftly grow Chimeric’s network of apheresis centers and ensure the entire network is appropriately qualified, onboarded, trained and supervised in order to meet accelerated timelines for the trial.
"Be The Match BioTherapies is an ideal partner for us, extending the reach and resources of our experienced cell therapy team," said Jennifer Chow, CEO of Chimeric Therapeutics. "With its focused mission and the NMDP/Be The Match’s 30 plus years of experience in managing the complexity and risks of cell therapy logistics, we believe that the team at Be The Match BioTherapies is uniquely positioned to support the expansion of the CHM 1101 (CLTX CAR T) development program."
"We are proud to partner with Chimeric and support its aggressive timeline by providing optimized solutions that focus on process improvement and standardization implementation to accelerate product development and delivery", said Chris McClain, Senior Vice President, Sales and Business Development, Be The Match BioTherapies. "We have a shared commitment to advance next-generation cell therapies for waiting patients, and we intend to help them achieve their targets."
ABOUT THE AGREEMENT
Whilst the cost to Chimeric of the agreement is not considered financially material in the context of Chimeric’s annual budgeted expenditure, the nature of the agreement is considered market sensitive. The cost of the agreement is expected to be funded from existing cash reserves. There are no conditions precedent, and the agreement is effective immediately for an initial term of three years. The agreement is subject to usual industry termination provisions.
ABOUT CHLOROTOXIN CAR T
Chlorotoxin CAR T (CLTX CAR T) cell therapy is a first and best in class CAR T cell therapy that has the potential to address the high unmet medical need of patients with recurrent/ progressive glioblastoma. Research to develop the intellectual property covering this CAR T cell therapy took place at City of Hope.
CLTX CAR T cell therapy uniquely utilizes chlorotoxin (CLTX), a peptide derived from scorpion toxin, as the tumour-targeting component of the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). CLTX and CLTX CAR T cells have 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 cells also demonstrated potent antitumour activity against glioblastoma while not exhibiting any off-tumour recognition of normal human cells and tissues, indicating a potentially optimal safety and efficacy profile.