Researching scorpion toxins to treat brain cancer
Promising research into the use of scorpion toxins to treat brain cancer is underway by recently listed Australian biotech company Chimeric Therapeutics Limited (ASX: CHM).
View the March 2021 Investor Update video presentation by Paul Hopper and Jennifer Chow here.
View the slide presentation here.
Baker Young Corporate Advisory led the pre-IPO funding round for Chimeric (pronounced ‘ky-meric’) in September last year, and then worked as Joint Lead Manager (for which we received fees) to take the company public and list it on the ASX in January of this year through a heavily oversubscribed $35m Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Chimeric is an FDA-approved, clinical stage (where the company is working with patients), cell therapy company focused on bringing the promise of cell therapy to life for patients with cancer. Last year, the company licensed the exclusive global rights to CLTX CAR-T, a CAR-T cell therapy and platform developed at the City of Hope Cancer Centre in Los Angeles by the eminent CAR-T scientists, Professor Christine Brown and Professor Mike Barish.
CAR-T is short for chimeric antigen receptor T-Cell. T-Cells have the capacity to hunt down and destroy abnormal cells, including some cancer cells. CAR-T therapy involves taking an immune T-cell from a patient’s blood and re-programming it to seek out a specific target on the surface of a cancer cell, so CAR-T can be used to retrain and enhance a patient’s immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells.
Now Chimeric is undertaking a Phase 1 clinical trial at City of Hope to determine if chlorotoxin (CLTX), a peptide component of toxins from the “deathstalker” scorpion, can be used to treat glioblastoma (GBM). GBM is the most common and aggressive type of primary brain tumour, and one of the least curable of all human cancers. It has a five-year relative survival rate of nearly 5%, so there is a desperate need for research into treatments that can provide a better prognosis for patients. Chimeric hopes to do that with its CLTX CAR-T therapy, which has shown safety and efficacy in preclinical models to date.
The Phase 1 clinical trial began in September 2020 and expects to enrol up to 30 patients with recurrent or progressive GBM, to establish a maximum tolerated dose schedule for CLTX CAR-T therapy, assess the safety of the therapy, and find some initial evidence to produce the desired result (efficacy). Chimeric will use the data from the Phase 1 trial to determine a recommended dosing plan for Phase 2, which is expected to follow soon after Phase 1 is complete.
Initial data from the Phase 1 clinical study is expected in the second half of CY2021.
Chimeric believes that beyond GBM, CLTX CAR-T has wider applicability and the company is currently developing a clinical trial to study it in other tumours such as melanoma and colorectal cancer.
CAR-T research is attracting plenty of investment and interest from large pharmaceutical companies (“big pharma”), including at the pre-clinical stage. In the US, Legend Biotech completed a US$424 million IPO (the largest biotech IPO on the NASDAQ in 2020) and listed with a US$4 billion market cap. In 2017 Gilead acquired cell therapy specialist Kite Pharma for US$11.9 billion before Celgene acquired cell-based immunotherapy company Juno Therapeutics for US$9 billion the following year.
Chimeric has an impressive team in place at both the board and management levels, including Executive Chairman Dr Paul Hopper, who has more than 25 years’ experience in biotech, healthcare, and life sciences. During his career, Dr Hopper has founded – or been involved in – no fewer than 14 drug companies, mainly in oncology. Dr Hopper first bid for City of Hope’s CAR-T technology six years ago before being successful last year, demonstrating his belief in the research and its potential.
The company has made quality appointments to its team in recent months including an outstanding US-based executive team – Ms Jennifer Chow (COO) and Dr Syed Rizvi (CMO) – both bringing CAR-T experience with leading players in the space including Kite Pharma and Legend Biotech. Former Juno Therapeutics executive Cindy Elkins recently joined the company’s board while another former Kite Pharma senior executive, Dr Eliot Bourk, joined Chimeric as Vice President, Business and Corporate Development, further adding to the depth of skills and experience in the team.
With the Phase 1 trial being an open-label study, multiple interim data readouts are expected, which will underpin news flow in addition to other potential clinical and business development milestones.
Chimeric believes that cell therapies have the potential to cure cancer and that by combining Chimeric’s unique expertise in the development and commercialisation of cell therapies with the world’s most innovative scientists and science, the company will be able to bring this promise of cell therapy to life for more patients with cancer with its CLTX-CAR T and further develop its oncology pipeline through the acquisition of new and novel cell therapy assets.
Baker Young is proud to support Chimeric and would be happy to assist with any additional information on the company.
In the press: Stockhead recently ran an engaging article on Chimeric Therapeutics Limited by Tim Boreham. You can read it here.
______
Sophisticated Investors… are you on the BY Corporate Advisory Premium list?
BY Corporate Advisory now prioritise access for our Sophisticated Investors to non-disclosure (Placements, Pre-IPO and Pathfinder) deals that we lead. Clients who have registered with BY Corporate Advisory and are qualified Sophisticated Investors are given an exclusive 2-hour pre-release window to participate in our deals. After the 2-hour window, the deal is opened to other brokers and other Sophisticated Investors who do not currently have accounts with Baker Young.
To register, please email corporate@bakeryoung.com.au. To find out more about becoming a Sophisticated Investor click here.
______
ASX Floats
BY Corporate Advisory is now releasing IPO’s which are in high demand, and we look to reward our retail clients as best we can by giving them priority access. There are a few limitations of when we can disclose an IPO to retail clients, but you can be informed as soon as one of our IPO’s is lodged with ASIC. BY Corporate Advisory cannot accept a bid for an IPO prior to the opening date.
To receive our announcements for IPOs, please email corporate@bakeryoung.com.au to ensure you are included on our exclusive list.
BY Corporate Advisory strongly recommended you talk to your Advisor before applying for an IPO.
General Disclaimer
This article has been prepared for the general information of investors and not having regard to any particular person’s financial situation, objectives, or needs. Accordingly, in so far as any information may constitute advice (whether express or implied), it is general advice and no recipient should rely upon it without having obtained specific advice from their advisor at Baker Young Limited. Baker Young Limited makes no representation, gives no warranty, and does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any recommendation, information, or advice contained herein. To the extent permitted by law, Baker Young Limited will not be liable to the recipient or any other persons in contract, in tort, or otherwise for any loss or damage (including indirect or consequential loss) as a result of the recipient, or any other person acting or refraining from acting in reliance on any recommendation, information or advice herein. Baker Young Limited or persons associated with it may have an interest in the securities or financial products mentioned in this document and may earn brokerage and other fees as a result of transactions in any such securities. Australian Financial Services Number 246735.