Cell therapy weekly: Collaboration for iPSC-based cardiac cell therapies
This week: Cartherics (Melbourne, Australia) has entered agreements with two Australian universities to advance cellular therapies for cardiovascular disease, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA; MD, USA) has granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation to a CAR T-cell therapy candidate for recurrent anaplastic thyroid cancer, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK) has announced a collaboration with Plasmidsaurus (CA, USA) to advance plasmid sequencing and develop new technologies for applications like gene therapy.
The news highlights:
- Advancing cardiac cellular therapies
- CAR-T therapy for thyroid cancer gets RMAT designation
- A plasmid sequencing collaboration
Advancing cardiac cellular therapies
Cartherics, a biotechnology company utilizing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to develop immune cell therapies for cancer, has entered into agreements with two Australian universities, aiming to advance iPSC-based therapies for cardiovascular disease.
The company has entered into a Material Transfer Agreement with The University of Queensland and The University of Sidney, granting the institutions access to one of Cartherics’ iPSC lines. These cells will be used to develop cardiomyocytes for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in research that is supported by a $4.9 million Medical Research Future Fund Stem Cell Mission grant.
Cartherics has also signed a Technology License Agreement with The University of Sydney, and The University of Queensland’s commercialization company UniQuest. This agreement grants the institutions exclusive rights to Cartherics’ iPSC line in the field of cardiovascular disease, as well as the rights to commercialize cardiomyocyte therapies developed under the agreement.
CAR-T therapy for thyroid cancer gets RMAT designation
The FDA has granted RMAT designation to AffyImmune’s (MA, USA) CAR T-cell therapy candidate, AIC100, for the treatment of recurrent anaplastic thyroid cancer. AIC100 leverages lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 on the surface of the CAR-T cells to target and bind intercellular adhesion molecule 1 on the surface of cancer cells.
“We believe this important recognition from the FDA further supports the therapeutic potential of AIC100 to change the current treatment paradigm in advanced thyroid cancer and potentially other forms of aggressive solid tumors,” said Daniel Janse, CEO of AffyImmune. “RMAT designation was granted following the FDA’s review of safety and efficacy data from the first ten patients dosed with AIC100 in our Phase I study. We believe the RMAT designation reinforces the potential ability of AIC100 to meet the high unmet medical need in recurrent [anaplastic thyroid cancer], an aggressive disease where a standard of care is currently not available.”
A plasmid sequencing collaboration
Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Plasmidsaurus have announced a strategic collaboration and an expanded multi-year contract to advance plasmid sequencing and co-develop novel reagents and technologies. Their focus will extend to applications beyond plasmid sequencing, including microbial and gene therapy uses.
Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore stated: “By collaborating with Plasmidsaurus, we are advancing the fields of synthetic biology and biotechnology through the unique capabilities of nanopore technology that are not possible with legacy methods. Our joint efforts will drive significant market growth and deliver best-in-class sequencing services to a global audience.”
