Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM) has received a patent in Japan covering certain applications of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology using chlorotoxin (CLTX).
This includes Chimeric’s clinical-stage CAR T asset CHM 1101, and preclinical-stage CAR NK asset, CHM 1301.
The patent was approved by the Japan Patent Office entitled “Chimeric antigen receptors containing a chlorotoxin domain”.
Chimeric holds the exclusive worldwide licence to develop and commercialise this patent as well as related patent applications filed in other global territories.
“We are delighted to have patent protection granted for CLTX CAR therapies in Japan, the third largest pharmaceutical market in the world,” says Chimeric’s CEO, Jennifer Chow.
“The granting of this key Japan patent continues to expand the robust intellectual property portfolio underpinning our CLTX CAR pipeline assets.”
Chimeric’s portfolio of CAR-T cancer therapies
Chimeric has built a portfolio of CAR-T cancer therapies with a focus on glioblastoma.
The company says that while traditional drug development focuses on delaying disease progression in cancer, Chimeric is focusing on finding a cure.
Its CORE-NK platform cells are made by activating and expanding natural killer cells to make them more active and robust.
The company says CORE-NK is a transformative platform technology enabling the development of multiple other next generation, off the shelf NK and CAR-NK products.
It’s currently being studied in a Phase 1 clinical trial in both blood cancers and solid tumours.
In June, Chimeric also expanded its licence agreement with the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) related to its CDH17 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapies.
Under that agreement, Chimeric has acquired a non-exclusive know-how licence to use Penn’s third-generation lentiviral vector plasmid system for the development and commercialisation of CHM 2101 (CDH17 CAR T).
Viral vector is a critical component used in the manufacturing of CAR T cells, and third-generation lentiviral vectors are said to offer improved safety over earlier generations.