Interview23 Jun 2022 14:15
I think my biggest disappointment following the interview has been the confirmation that Hu-PHEC has been shelved and that CDX has been substantially delayed, but we have to understand the reasons why. Firstly, although fully funded for the next year, Hemogenyx haven’t got enough money to progress all of their product candidates to where they want them to be, so they have prioritised. In essence they are very much victims of their own success. They have decided, and rightly so in my opinion, the vast majority of their funds will go towards achieving proof of concept with HEMO CAR-T. Whilst there has been a further delay it’s important to recognise it’s a logistical delay as opposed to scientific. Hemogenyx have chosen to build and install their own clean rooms to manufacture their own CAR, and adopting this strategy has undoubtedly put the timeline back. BUT, there are positives from this approach. Firstly, do you think Hemogenyx would be building their own manufacturing capability if they didn’t think HEMO CAR-T would get into and through clinical trials? Do you think Hemogenyx would be employing senior scientists with CAR-T expertise to oversee the development, management and production of CAR-T (and do you think these individuals would be keen to join Hemogenyx) if they all didn’t think this candidate would work and save lives? So yes there is a delay, but a planned one. A decision made to save Hemogenyx money over the long term, around £12m to be precise, from the costs of doing things yourself rather than outsourcing. But remember there’s also money allocated to another candidate, or platform to be precise, CBR. Money that will get CBR to where Hemogenyx want it to be, to work on an actual live virus. The first chosen virus I understand is Covid and all variants associated with it. This work is ongoing and in my opinion will be the next announcement we get from Hemogenyx.
So timeline as I see it. CBR proof of concept Q3, CAR-T IND Q4/Q1, next year CAR-T clinical trials Q1/Q2, CDX IND Q3, CDX clinical trials Q3/Q4. It’s also highly possible various partnerships and licensing agreements may be announced throughout the journey as well. So, just my thoughts but plenty to look forward to in my opinion, albeit frustrating at the moment.