A key US patent for Prescient Therapeutics’ OmniCAR platform has been granted, the Australian biotech company has announced, ensuring protection in the American healthcare market until at least 2039.

The patent protects the use of a unique, two-part covalent binding system, SpyTag and SpyCatcher, which forms a key component of OmniCAR – a universal immune receptor (UIR) platform that creates next-generation modular cell therapies that are controllable, flexible and adaptable.

The binding system is uniquely strong and delivers greater efficacy, control and the ability to pre-arm cancer-fighting T cells, the company said, highlighting these as key advantages over other approaches that rely on weaker, temporary binding.

OmniCAR is believed by the company to be the only known UIR platform employing this particular binding, which was developed by Oxford University, applied to cell therapy by the University of Pennsylvania and exclusively licensed to Prescient.

Prescient CEO Steven Yatomi-Clarke said the patent is a key plank in the protection of the OmniCAR platform, especially in the US, which is the world’s largest healthcare market.

“Prescient continues to bolster the protection of this innovative platform through the development of new intellectual property as we progress our three exciting OmniCAR programs through preclinical development and towards the clinic,” he said.

The patent will provide protection for molecules currently being developed by Prescient for use in the OmniCAR system.

The news follows last month’s unveiling of CellPryme-M, Prescient’s new high-performing cell therapy enhancement platform developed in collaboration with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Prescient – which sits at the forefront of the current revolution within oncology, the largest sector in healthcare at US$280 billion – built the platform to manufacture superior CAR-T therapies, which use genetically modified cells taken from patients’ own immune systems to battle diseases that otherwise could not be treated, including various types of cancers.

CellPryme-M manufactures cells that are more ‘youthful’ for better and longer-lasting cancer killing, and can better seek out and destroy cancers in the body.

The platform is now ready for use in clinical studies and the company plans to use it to enhance the cells used in its existing breakthrough OmniCAR programs.

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Sources:

• Prescient Therapeutics ASX Announcements, Key OmniCAR US Patent Granted