Most company announcements include a one paragraph summary of the business conveniently located at the bottom of the page. Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX: CHM) however, has a one page run down of their business, a clear sign that they work with complex scientific principles and diseases. 

Whilst investors might initially shy away from the wall of text, choosing to focus on ‘easier’ companies, those with some time up their sleeve to learn will find that the market Chimeric is playing in is seriously big. 

The oncology market is growing with rising cancer rates due to an ageing population and longer lifespans. Sales for therapeutics in the global oncology market are forecast to hit $250 billion by 2024. Oncology is expected to represent 26% of all pharmaceutical sales by the end of 2022. 

Chimeric is a clinical stage cell therapy company working on pharmaceuticals that harness the power of the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. 

It is well established amongst medical researchers that cell therapies are powerful, and hold promise for curing cancers. Already at commercial stages, cell therapies like Yescarta, a CAR T cell medicine for non-Hodgkin lymphoma are providing great results with a success rate of 30-40% for lasting remission. 

Before we get into that though…how does CAR T cell therapy work?

T cell therapies are unique to each individual. Blood is drawn from a patient and specialised immune cells called T cells are separated out. These T cells are then ‘reprogrammed’ in a lab to produce specific surface receptors (called CARs). These specialised T cells are then returned to the patient via infusion. They can now recognise specific characteristic proteins on cancer cells and sound the alarm to other immune cells, initiating an immune response that results in the destruction of the cancer cell. 

Forging ahead with their own T cell treatments, Chimeric has expanded their licence agreement with the University of Pennsylvania for CDH17 chimeric antigen receptors (remember, those little specific surface receptors programmed to T cells that can recognise cancers? Good, stay with me…)

The agreement allows Chimeric a “non-exclusive know-how” licence to use the University’s method of programming said T cells to express the CDH17 receptor. This receptor is critical for the recognition of cancer cells. 

The licence will enable Chimeric to use the University’s tech for a planned Phase 1 study for their asset CHM2101 to investigate its use in gastrointestinal cancers. The Company is hoping to use data gathered in this study to file an Investigational New Drug application for CHM 2101 with the US Food and Drug Administration.  

CHM2101 is one of Chimeric’s lead assets that has shown promise in preclinical studies to completely eradicate tumours without relapse. The potent anti-cancer mechanism of action was designed to address the needs of patients with neuroendocrine tumours where the CDH17 receptor is expressed. In normal cells, this receptor is hidden, however in cancer cells the receptor is detectable by Chimeric’s drug which can then turn on an immune response.

The cost of the licensing amendment is negligible, with the Company considering it not “financially material in the context of Chimeric’s annual budgeted expenditure,” with the licensing fee being easily funded by current cash held by the Company. 

Chimeric’s other lead asset is CHM1101, another T cell therapy that utilises the tumour targeting properties of the deathstalker scorpion’s venom (yep, you read that right)! 

For the March quarter, Chimeric reported a cash balance of $23.7 million, having only used $3.2 million in operating expenditure for the period.