China, NZ unite over cancer drugs

Kiwis are being guaranteed the first bite at new cancer vaccines set to be developed and trialled through Wellington’s Malaghan Institute of Medical Research.

The venture, aimed at developing vaccine-based immunotherapy treatments, was formalised yesterday in an agreement with Chinese researchers.

Wellington Zhaotai Therapies has been formed for the venture, with a focus on transfusion-style CAR-T cell therapy, Malaghan Institute director Professor Graham Le Gros said.

Already ‘‘a substantial pipeline of therapies’’ had been developed and trialled in China where they proved effective in leukaemia patients. Malaghan would tailor them to Western regulations so the therapies could be trialled in New Zealand, Le Gros said.

The transfusion-style treatment involves modifying patients’ immune cells (T cells) in the laboratory, to redirect them to work against cancer cells. The new treatment would work on cells that have been manipulated outside of the body.

Once ‘‘enriched’’ in the lab, the patient’s cells would be administered through a vaccine, Le Gros said.

Malaghan’s Dr Robert Weinkove is leading the research in New Zealand and expects a nationwide clinical trial to begin in 2018. Those first in line will be cancer patients who have not responded to other treatments.

If the trial is successful here, international trials and regulatory approval would follow.

After signing a letter of intent in November, officials from Hunan Zhaotai Medical Group (HZMG), based in Changsha, China, signed on the dotted line with Malaghan directors to officially form Wellington Zhaotai Therapies yesterday.

HZMG has injected $1 million in seed funding to get the treatment up and running in New Zealand.

Malaghan’s costs in preparing to set up the new company have been supported through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s pre-seed accelerator fund.

‘‘We have always treated our success gaining government funding as a badge of honour given the high calibre of competition for funding within New Zealand,’’ Le Gros said.

There are no other investors but some funding has come from philanthropic donors.

When asked if the development of Wellington Zhaotai Therapies could lead to other jointlydeveloped treatments, Le Gros said: ‘‘Right now our focus is on CAR-T cell therapies.’’

‘‘We hope to be able to see many of these come through as a result of this partnership.

‘‘However, this model – taking novel Chinese therapies and developing and trialling them under New Zealand’s regulatory framework – offers a clear win-win for both countries and we hope that this will be the first of many such examples.’’

Health Research Council chief executive Kath McPherson said the partnership would attract offshore investment into New Zealand. ‘‘And [it will] pave the way for more collaborations with China, who will be an increasingly influential force in health research in the coming years.’’

"Taking novel Chinese therapies and developing and trialling them under New Zealand's regulatory framework, offers a clear win-win." Graham Le Gros, Malaghan Institute director