An Australian company developing personalised therapies for cancer has joined forces with a specialist cell therapy manufacturer to bolster its capabilities in the lead-up to clinical trials.

Prescient Therapeutics (ASX: PTX) has signed a manufacturing services agreement with QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute’s Q-Gen Cell Therapeutics for the production of T-cells in its upcoming OmniCAR trials, with initial work already underway.

“We are excited to be working with Prescient Therapeutics on what we see as a unique cell therapy platform,” Q-Gen general manager Andrew Masel said.

Prescient’s cell manufacturing enhancement technology, CellPryme-M, will also be incorporated into the manufacturing process of OmniCAR T-cells to help produce a superior cell phenotype.

While the oncology company is also developing next-generation programs for Her2 positive solid cancers and glioblastoma multiforme, its particularly encouraging progress with acute myeloid leukaemia makes this likely to be the first OmniCAR program to enter clinical studies.

“Prescient is working steadily towards our first-in-human studies of OmniCAR, which will be an important milestone for the company,” CEO and MD Steven Yatomi-Clarke said.

“This important agreement (with Q-Gen) secures Prescient’s crucial supply of OmniCAR cells for our clinical trials and ensures we are producing the best possible cell therapy products for doctors and patients living with hard-to-treat cancers.”

Manufacturing will take place at Q-Gen’s Brisbane facility, which produces autologous and allogeneic cell therapies globally for pharmaceutical companies and academic research groups.

With the agreement set to last up to five years, Prescient has now started the technology transfer process to Q-Gen, one of Australia’s leading producers of cell-based medicines.

Prescient Therapeutics CEO and MD Steven Yatomi-Clarke will be hosting a live and interactive investor briefing on Tuesday, 23rd August, at 12pm (AEST) to further discuss the agreement and to provide an update on the company. Click here to register.

Reach Markets has been engaged by Prescient Therapeutics Limited to assist with their investor communications and may receive fees for its services.

Sources:

• Prescient Therapeutics ASX Announcements, Prescient signs Manufacturing Agreement for Next Generation CAR-T Therapy