Prescient (ASX: PTX) inks deal with Q-Gen for supply of OmniCAR cells for clinical trials

Highlights

• Prescient has entered a manufacturing agreement with Q-Gen, a specialist cell therapy producer.
• Q-Gen will now produce OmniCAR cells for PTX’s upcoming clinical trials.
• The agreement will also include CellPryme-M in the production process of OmniCAR T cells.

The clinical-stage oncology company Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) marks a crucial move towards its first in human studies of the OmniCAR platform. Prescient has entered a manufacturing services agreement with specialist cell therapy manufacturer, Q-Gen Cell Therapeutics (Q-Gen). As part of the agreement, Q-Gen will produce OmniCAR T-cells for upcoming clinical trials of PTX.

Prescient is advancing the development of its next-generation OmniCAR programs for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), glioblastoma multiforme and Her2 positive solid cancers. The consistent advancement of the OmniCAR AML program makes it likely to be the first OmniCAR program to enter clinical studies.

Major highlights of the agreement

Q-Gen, one of Australia's top producers of cell-based medicines, is the cell therapy manufacturing arm of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. Following are the key highlights of the agreement:

• Q-Gen will produce and deliver autologous OmniCAR-T cells for clinical trials.
• Q-Gen will use its Brisbane facility to produce OmniCAR cells.
• The deal will also include CellPryme-M into the production process of OmniCAR T cells.
• The agreement is for a five-year term with the provision of earlier termination and extension per normal commercial terms.

Prescient has commenced the technology transfer process for OmniCAR-T cell manufacturing.

OmniCAR cells

CAR-T therapies involve the isolation of T-cells from a cancer patient, making genetic modifications in those cells and re-infusing them into the patient. The modified cells express a new chimeric antigen receptor with the potential to recognise cancer cells. By contrast, OmniCAR T cells will express a universal immune receptor which can bind with any separate SpyTagged targeting ligand. Thanks to these characteristics OmniCAR cells can potentially address any cancer and can overcome the limitations faced by conventional CAR-T therapies.

Stock information

At the time of writing this article (Tue, 16 Aug, 10:53 am AEST), shares of the company were trading at AU$0.180, with a market capitalisation of AU$121.12 million.

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