MaxCyte Signs Strategic
Platform License with Kamau Therapeutics to Accelerate the
Development of Cell Therapies for Genetic
Diseases
Kamau to use MaxCyte's Flow
Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ platform to support its
homology-directed repair (HDR) novel gene correction
technology
Rockville, MD, and South San Francisco, CA, Sept. 16,
2024 -
MaxCyte, Inc., (Nasdaq: MXCT; LSE:
MXCT), a leading, cell-engineering focused
company providing enabling platform technologies to advance the
discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation
cell-based therapeutics and innovative bioprocessing applications,
and
Kamau Therapeutics, a
clinical-stage stem cell therapy gene correction
company, today announced they are entering into
a strategic platform license (SPL)
agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement,
Kamau obtains non-exclusive research, clinical and commercial
rights to use MaxCyte's Flow Electroporation® technology and
ExPERT™ platform. In return, MaxCyte is entitled to receive annual
licensing fees and program-related revenue.
Kamau is a clinical-stage,
next-generation gene correction company harnessing high efficiency
targeted gene integration to develop a new class of therapies with
the aim to cure a wide range of serious and life-threatening
diseases, such as sickle cell disease (SCD). The company's
platform, which is founded on homology-directed repair (HDR)
editing, builds on first generation CRISPR-Cas9 technology by not
only cutting DNA but providing a template to repair DNA. HDR now
forms the basis for Kamau's lead investigational program, nula-cel,
which is in clinical development for SCD.
"Bringing this groundbreaking gene
therapy research into the clinic requires a robust manufacturing
process and the ability to scale,"
said Maher Masoud, President and
CEO of MaxCyte. "By partnering with us, Kamau
gains access to our commercially validated Flow
Electroporation technology as well as technical,
regulatory and scientific support. This enables
them to optimize their clinical manufacturing process, mitigate
risks and expedite the progression of their lead product candidate
through clinical phases to deliver this potential cure to patients
living with SCD."
"HDR overcomes prior limitations in
specificity, efficiency and durability of gene editing to offer
broad potential for transforming human health outcomes through the
delivery of one-time curative cell therapies," said Matthew Porteus, MD, PhD, Co-Founder of
Kamau. "Through our collaboration with MaxCyte and the use
of their proven non-viral platform, our goal is to treat or cure a
range of serious genetic diseases with unmet medical needs using
homology-directed repair."
MaxCyte's ExPERT™ instrument
portfolio is the next generation of leading, clinically and
commercially validated electroporation technology for complex and
scalable cell engineering. By delivering high transfection
efficiency, seamless scalability and enhanced functionality, the
ExPERT™ platform delivers the high-end performance essential to
enabling the next wave of biological and cellular therapeutics.
Kamau Therapeutics is MaxCyte's 29th clinical/commercial partnership overall; each
partnership generates pre-commercial milestone revenue, the
vast majority of which includes program-related revenue.
About MaxCyte
At MaxCyte, we pursue cell
engineering excellence to maximize the potential of cells to
improve patients' lives. We have spent more than 20 years honing
our expertise by building best-in-class platforms, perfecting the
art of the transfection workflow, and venturing beyond today's
processes to innovate tomorrow's solutions. Our ExPERT™ platform,
which is based on our Flow Electroporation® technology, has been designed to support
the rapidly expanding cell therapy market and can be utilized
across the continuum of the high-growth cell therapy sector, from
discovery and development through commercialization of
next-generation, cell-based medicines. The ExPERT family of
products includes: four instruments, the ATx™, STx™, GTx™ and VLx
™; a portfolio of proprietary related processing assemblies or
disposables; and software protocols, all supported by a robust
worldwide intellectual property portfolio. By providing our
partners with the right technology platform, as well as technical
and regulatory support, we aim to guide them on their journey to
transform human health. Learn more at
maxcyte.com and follow us on
X and
LinkedIn.
About Kamau Therapeutics
Kamau Therapeutics is a
clinical-stage, gene correction company dedicated to transforming
the lives of patients with devastating genetic diseases through
best-in-class, curative stem-cell therapies. Kamau stands apart
through the unique capabilities of its next-generation gene
correction platform that directly corrects genetic mutations with
unprecedented precision: removing the pathologic mutation and
replacing it with the healthy version. The company's platform
technology is based on the pioneering research of company
co-founder Matthew Porteus, MD, PhD, and offers broad potential for
transforming human health. Kamau's lead clinical program,
nulabeglogene autogedtemcel (nula-cel), previously developed by
Graphite Bio, is the only hematopoietic stem-cell based therapy in
clinical development for sickle cell disease (SCD) that precisely
corrects the mutation in the beta-globin gene found in the sickled
hemoglobin (HgbS) of SCD patients, restoring patient's stem cells
to normal adult hemoglobin (HgbA). Kamau plans to enroll additional
patients with SCD in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of nula-cel, for
which it has received both fast track and orphan drug designations
from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For more
information, please visit
kamautx.com and follow the
company's progress on its LinkedIn page.
MaxCyte Contacts:
US IR
Adviser
Gilmartin
Group
David Deuchler, CFA
+1 415-937-5400
ir@maxcyte.com
US Media
Relations
Spectrum
Science
Jordan Vines
jvines@spectrumscience.com
+1 540-629-3137
Nominated Adviser and Joint
Corporate Broker
Panmure Liberum
Emma Earl / Freddy
Crossley
Corporate Broking
Rupert Dearden
+44 (0)20 7886 2500
UK IR
Adviser
ICR
Consilium
Mary-Jane Elliott
Chris Welsh
+44 (0)203 709 5700
maxcyte@consilium-comms.com
Kamau Contacts:
Kamau Therapeutics
Laura
Henry
+1-415-980-0256
E: lhenry@kamautx.com
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