The eagerly anticipated IPO of oncology biotech Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM) made a strong start this morning.

Chimeric Therapeutics has developed a unique peptide-based therapy known as CLTX-CAR T that reprograms a patient’s T cells to fight cancer cells.

Chimeric is running phase one clinical trials in Los Angeles against a particularly aggressive brain cancer known as glioblastoma.

The company intends to initiate a pivotal 50-75 patient study later this year.

It has a license agreement with the City of Hope cancer centre for the technology and said in its prospectus it hopes the technology is eventually commercialised – but was open to a licensing or distribution agreement or a sale to a big pharma company.

Chimeric Therapeutics’ IPO was priced at 20 cents per share. At 11am shares opened at 36 cents – representing an 80 per cent gain.

This makes Chimeric by far the ASX’s most successful IPO so far in 2021 albeit only the fourth new listing this year.

Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM) share price chart

 

@bhavdip143’s view

There are dozens of ASX biotechs fighting cancer but only one other company, Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX), is utilising a similar therapy.

Stocks commentator Bhavdip Sanghavi, also known as @bhavdip143 is one backer of Chimeric Therapeutics’ IPO.

Speaking with Stockhead last week, Sanghavi said that CAR T cell therapy was “one of the hottest areas in biotech” and he was impressed by the company’s leadership team.

Chairman Paul Hopper is a well known figure in ASX biotech circles having served on companies including Imugene (ASX:IMU)Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) and Suda Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SUD).

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Prescient Therapeutics is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.