Biotech partners to manufacture CAR T therapies locally

Biotech News: Chimeric Therapeutics has announced a collaboration with Cell Therapies to explore the potential for manufacturing its CAR T-cell assets in Australia, marking a significant step forward in expanding access to cutting-edge cancer treatments.

Cell Therapies, a Melbourne-based commercial contract development and manufacturing company, specialises in cell therapy, gene therapy, regenerative medicine, and cellular immunotherapy products.

Co-located with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne’s Parkville Precinct, Cell Therapies operates Australia’s only biomedical manufacturing facility capable of producing CAR T-cells and other “living” cancer therapies at a commercial scale. Peter Mac is its majority shareholder.

In related news, recent research from the University of South Australia (UniSA) has demonstrated the potential of a microfluidic technology, known as inertial spiral microfluidics, to enhance the CAR T-cell manufacturing process. This technology efficiently removes contaminating cancerous cells and other large white blood cells, which can otherwise interfere with CAR T-cell production and diminish the therapy’s efficacy.

The research, partially funded by Carina Biotech, an Australian clinical-stage immunotherapy company, addresses a critical challenge in the field.

Dr Mona Elsemary, a PhD graduate from UniSA’s Future Industries Institute, highlighted the significance of the findings.

“CAR T-cell therapy is promising, but ensuring the purity of T-cells extracted from patients is a challenge and a key bottleneck in the routine clinical use of this immunotherapy. Our research aims to solve this problem with the use of inertial spiral microfluidics, which we’ve found effective in removing unwanted contaminating cells.”

She further noted, “This technology is more effective than other recently commercialised microfluidic platforms. It achieves greater T-cell purity while offering higher recovery rates, which is the key to more successful CAR T-cell therapy – especially in patients with common blood cancers like B-cell ALL.”

The economic implications of this research are also noteworthy. While CAR T-cell therapy can cost over $500,000, the inexpensive disposable devices used in inertial spiral microfluidics can be seamlessly integrated into current processes, potentially reducing costs by up to 14% by lowering the need for specialised facilities and personnel.

Professor Benjamin Thierry, UniSA’s Professor of Bioengineering and a researcher at the Future Industries Institute, expressed optimism about the research team’s progress.

“Next steps would be clinical trials, and then optimising the process for different types of cancers. Once the effectiveness and safety of this new technology have been confirmed, it could be integrated into the CAR T-cell manufacturing pathway, leading to more efficient and cost-effective CAR T-cell therapy,” he explained.

Commenting on the collaboration, Dr Rebecca McQualter, Chief Operating Officer of Chimeric Therapeutics, said “This is great progress for Chimeric and aims to provide Australian patients with access to our first-in-class CAR T clinical trials.”

Dr Bev Menner, Chief Executive Officer of Cell Therapies, added “We are very pleased to work with Chimeric to bring their innovative CAR T products to Australian cancer patients in need.”

Chimeric currently has four Phase 1/1b trials open across the United States and is considering expanding to new sites in Australia.

Their CHM CDH17 therapy is being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for gastrointestinal and neuroendocrine tumours, initiated in 2024. Another promising therapy, CHM CLTX, is being tested in a Phase 1B clinical trial for recurrent/progressive glioblastoma. Additionally, two Phase 1B clinical trials are investigating CHM CORE-NK in combination regimens for both blood cancers and solid tumours.

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