Salim Dhanji: In Vivo CAR Therapy and Accessible Cancer Treatment | Stories in Life Sciences

In vivo CAR therapy delivers cancer-fighting immune cell reprogramming through a simple injection, skipping the external manufacturing process that makes traditional CAR T therapy cost close to half a million dollars per patient. 

In this episode of Stories in Life Sciences by MedAxis AI, Christopher Wilson sits down with Salim Dhanji, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of ME Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (CSE: METX), to explore how his team is building a platform to bring in vivo CAR therapy to patients who currently have no accessible treatment options.

Dr. Salim brings 25+ years as an immunologist and 20+ publications in cancer, autoimmunity, and inflammation to a preclinical company founded at UBC in 2014. ME Therapeutics' platform focuses on reshaping the tumor microenvironment, with a CD19/CD22 in vivo CAR lead program licensed from the National Research Council of Canada and a first-in-human clinical trial targeted for late 2026 or early 2027.

We cover:

• How in vivo CAR therapy works and how it compares to traditional ex vivo CAR T manufacturing
• The tumor microenvironment and why myeloid cells are central to ME Therapeutics' platform
• The CD19/CD22 in vivo CAR lead program licensed from the National Research Council of Canada
• Lipid nanoparticle delivery and the role of COVID vaccine technology in unlocking in vivo immune reprogramming
• The Canadian biotech capital landscape and the strategic case for a Nasdaq or NYSE American uplisting
• ME Therapeutics' path to a first-in-human clinical trial targeted for late 2026 or early 2027
• What it takes to build a lean preclinical biotech and why Salim believes lean is a strategic choice, not a constraint

Who this is for: biotech founders navigating the transition from preclinical to clinical stage, immunologists thinking about company formation, and life sciences investors tracking the in vivo CAR and immune reprogramming space.

Guest:

Salim Dhanji, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder, ME Therapeutics

www.metherapeutics.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/salim-dhanji

https://www.linkedin.com/company/me-therapeutics

Host:

Christopher Wilson, Founder, MedAxis AI

www.medaxisai.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-wilson-medaxisai

https://www.linkedin.com/company/medaxisai