Shares in biotech company, Prescient Therapeutics, have proved buoyant this week after initial immunogenicity testing demonstrated the company’s OmniCAR binding systems for next-generation CAR-T therapies are unlikely to trigger adverse reactions.

The ‘in silico’ tests – referring to tests conducted through computer modelling – found Prescient’s ‘SpyTag’ and ‘SpyCatcher’ binding systems both have very low ‘immunogenicity’.

Immunogenicity testing measures the response human immune systems have to drugs and treatments, with lower immunogenicity readings less likely to produce unwanted or even dangerous immune responses from patients.

SpyTag and SpyCatcher both produced immunogenicity readings lower than “a panel of humanised therapeutic antibodies already approved for human use”, the company said in a statement.

Steven Yatomi-Clarke, the company’s CEO and Managing Director, described the results as an “incremental but important milestone” in Prescient’s work to develop the next generation of CAR-T cancer therapies.

CAR-T therapies use a patient’s own immune cells (known as T-Cells) to fight cancer by genetically modifying the cells to identify and attack tumours, however the current generation treatments have issues with safety and control and can only attack one cancer target.

Prescient’s next-generation OmniCAR platform – which incorporates SpyTag and SpyCatcher – aims to overcome these challenges by allowing greater control, the ability to redirect modified T-Cells, and improved safety outcomes.

Mr Yatomi-Clarke said the latest immunogenicity results de-risk the entire OmniCAR platform.

“In short, it gives us confidence that if these therapies are ultimately delivered to patients, that their immune system will not impair the therapy itself,” he said.

“This is essential not only for Prescient’s three in-house OmniCAR programs, but also for potential collaborators, who consider immunogenicity very stringently.”

The test results follow successful manufacturing and delivery of “critical” OmniCAR components, and place the company “on schedule” to deliver further milestones in line with Prescient’s development plan.

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Sources:

• ASX: PTX announcement – 5 July 2021
• National Cancer Institute: CAR T Cells: Engineering Patients’ Immune Cells to Treat Their Cancers
• PTX: Technology