The strategic partnership will leverage Be The Match BioTherapies’ optimized solutions to accelerate development timelines and expand trial access for Chimeric’s CHM 1101 (CLTX CAR T) program.
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.
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.
ABOUT CHIMERIC THERAPEUTICS
Chimeric Therapeutics, a clinical stage cell therapy company and the ASX leader in cell therapy, is focused on bringing the promise of cell therapy to life for more patients with cancer. We believe that cellular therapies have the promise to cure cancer not just delay disease progression.
To bring that promise to life for more patients, Chimeric’s world class team of cell therapy pioneers and experts is focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of the most innovative and promising cell therapies.
CHM 1101 (CLTX CAR T) is a novel and promising CAR T therapy developed by scientists at the City of Hope Medical Centre in California for the treatment of patients with solid tumours. CHM 1101 is currently being studied in a phase 1 clinical trial in recurrent/ progressive glioblastoma. A 2nd CLTX CAR T phase 1 clinical trial is planned to begin in 2022 in additional solid tumours.
CHM 2101 (CDH17 CAR T) is a novel, 3rd generation CDH17 CAR T invented at the University of Pennsylvania. CHM 2101 (CDH17 CAR T) is currently in preclinical development with a planned phase 1 clinical trial in 2022 in Neuroendocrine Tumours, Colorectal, Pancreatic and Gastric Cancer.
Recently Chimeric announced the addition of the CORE-NK platform, a clinically validated, off the shelf natural killer (NK) cell therapy platform to their portfolio (CHM 0201). From the CORE-NK platform, Chimeric will initiate development of four new next generation NK and CAR NK assets with plans for phase 1 clinical trials to begin in 2023 in solid tumours and blood cancers.
Chimeric Therapeutics continues to be actively engaged in further developing its oncology pipeline with new and novel cell therapy assets that will bring the promise of cell therapy to life for more patients with cancer.
ABOUT BE THE MATCH BIOTHERAPIES
Be The Match BioTherapies® partners with cell and gene therapy companies to save lives through autologous and allogeneic cellular therapy. They are the only cell and gene therapy solutions provider with customizable services to support the entire end-to-end cell therapy supply chain. As part of the National Marrow Donor Program®(NMDP)/Be The Match®, Be The Match BioTherapies has sourced, collected and delivered cells from more than 100,000 volunteer allogeneic donors around the world for time-critical cellular therapies. They have extensive experience providing cellular source material consented for research, clinical and commercial use.
Throughout the past 30+ years, Be The Match BioTherapies has developed and continually enhanced their cell collection network and proven cell therapy supply chain infrastructure. The teams are responsible for more than 6,500 time-sensitive cell therapy shipments per year. Through the CIBMTR®(Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), Be The Match BioTherapies provides long-term follow-up tracking for the first two FDA-approved CAR-T therapies.
For more information, visit www.BeTheMatchBioTherapies.com or follow Be The Match BioTherapies on LinkedIn or Twitter.
CHIMERIC THERAPEUTICS CONTACT
Investors
| Jennifer Chow | Paul Hopper |
| Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director | Executive Chairman |
| Chimeric Therapeutics | Chimeric Therapeutics |
| T: + 1 9087238387 | T: + 61 406 671 515 |
Media
Chimeric Therapeutics:
Matthew Wright
NWR Communications
P: +61 451 896 420
E: matt@nwrcommunications.com.au
Be The Match BioTherapies:
Bonnie Quintanilla
P: (877) 887-7611
