With around $15m in the bank, Prescient is pressing ahead to move its novel OmniCAR therapy into the clinic as it looks to unlock shareholder value.

Clinical stage oncology company Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) ended the quarter in a strong cash position, as it looks to execute on a number of cancer therapy programs.

The company finished the December 2021 quarter with $14.77 million of available cash on its balance sheet.

The company has made great progress on its OmniCAR T-cell therapy programs.

During the quarter, Prescient presented exciting new OmniCAR pre-clinical data at the Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa in California, a leading forum for the international medical and investment community focused on new cell therapies.

The new data, some of which are believed to be world-firsts, outlined the key attributes of OmniCAR to generate CAR-T cell therapies that can be controlled post-infusion, re-armed, and redirected from one cancer antigen to another.

Post-quarter, the company received a crucial accreditation by the Office of the Gene Regulator (OTGR), a requirement that enables a company to conduct clinical trials in Australia involving gene-edited cells such as CAR-T therapies.

Prescient also continues to attract world-leading experts to help guide it in a rapidly emerging field, with highly respected experts from the Moffitt Cancer Center and University of Pennsylvania recently joining its scientific board.

The novel OmniCAR T-cell therapy

In previous studies, Prescient’s OmniCAR platform has demonstrated that it could overcome the limitations of traditional CAR-T treatments for cancer.

This potential is currently attracting the attention of global therapy decision makers.

The company’s most recent work, conducted in collaboration with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, showed that OmniCAR-T cells begin antigen-directed killing of tumour cells in-vitro as soon as they are armed.

The team also showed that OmniCAR-T cells could be re-armed and continue to kill tumour cells without loss of cytotoxicity, and that it can be used to target multiple cancer antigens.

The program is currently being developed to tackle diseases such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML); Her2+ solid tumours, including breast, ovarian and gastric cancers; and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

Prescient is pushing hard to have the OmniCAR program move towards clinical trials.

The recent OTGR approval, which is separate from approval by the Therapeutics Goods Administration, was a critical step towards achieving that goal.

“This OGTR accreditation is an important step in the regulatory process to conduct a CAR-T trial in Australia,” commented Prescient CEO Steven Yatomi-Clarke.

“In addition to our research and development, Prescient is undertaking a significant body of regulatory work, as we progress the OmniCAR programs towards clinical trials,” he added.

Positive outlook ahead

Despite multiple logistical challenges brought about by the pandemic, Prescient was able to continue to execute on its schedule in a timely manner.

The team has demonstrated its ability to work through these challenges to ensure that clinical and pre-clinical work continues, while meeting its commitments to the researchers and patients taking part in the trials.

Over the coming quarters, Prescient says it will remain focused on developing the OmniCAR platform as it looks to unlock long-term shareholder value.

Patients suffering from Glioblastoma (GBM), a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour, could potentially have their symptoms relieved by using its novel therapies.

GBM’s characteristics have so far presented significant challenges for therapies, including CAR-T therapies that rely on single antigen targeting.

Prescient is seeking to overcome these limitations and provide a more effective treatment by redirecting a single cell product from one cancer antigen to another in GBM cells.

The company’s cancer-fighting drug therapy PTX-100 is also showing significant promise, with early stage trials showing benefit to patients with hard to treat cancers.

PTX-100 works by blocking an important protein known as GGT-1 that is involved in cancer-causing pathways in cells.

The drug was well-tolerated, even at the highest dose, with its safety profile meaning it might benefit fragile patients unable to tolerate more toxic therapies, or as a combination agent with other treatments.

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This article was developed in collaboration with Prescient, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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