We all know how difficult the field of oncology is and why, so for this reason, I reckon it would be great to see some pre-clinical results demonstrating how broadly applicable our two cell therapy platforms are beyond cancer.
The company acknowledged (under SYC's reign) that both OmniCAR and CellPryme could theoretically treat other diseases. Arthritis has been specifically mentioned. I assume it's autoimmune-based types of arthritis. That's where immune-mediated antigen targets exist for the viability of CAR-T therapy. Lupus is an autoimmune disease - the one which Monash implemented a breakthrough CAR-T treatment. There is Lupus-related arthritis, all sorts of other forms of autoimmune Lupus including a cutaneous Lupus, and there is Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc... which could be easier to treat than solid tumours. Adapting the success of CAR-T in blood cancers looks to be feasible in autoimmune diseases. PTX is in a prime position if we are right in thinking its not just OmniCAR's "issues" that have been undergoing preclinical R&D for the last 2 yrs resulting in a yet to be released extensive "body of work" with Peter Mac and CSIRO.
It would surprise me if the ongoing pre-clinical work on OmniCAR and even CellPryme doesn't involve testing within the autoimmune field. It could be an easier space to break into, albeit the groundwork will have to be laid to produce the data for any proof of concept to have credibility. It has been mentioned a few times now, though, that it will be complete by the end of this year.
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