MaxCyte, Inc. and Curamys have announced the signing of a strategic platform license.
MaxCyte is a cell-engineering focused company providing enabling platform technologies to advance the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation cell-based therapeutics and to support cell-based research.
Curamys is a South Korean biotechnology company developing cell and gene therapy using cell fusion technology to treat rare intractable diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Under the terms of the agreement, Curamys obtains non-exclusive clinical and commercial rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT platform. In return, MaxCyte is entitled to receive platform licensing fees and program-related revenue.
Cell fusion technology
Curamys is focused on developing treatments for genetic and degenerative diseases through its specialized cell fusion technology, based on the concept that apoptotic or dying cells can be regenerated by fusing them with healthy normal cells. Cell fusion technology can function as a form of gene therapy when the normal copies of genes existing in treatment cells are transferred to dying cells, resulting in the development of treatments for genetic and rare intractable diseases at the cellular level.
“A recent report estimates that there are more than 10,000 distinct rare diseases affecting 400 million people around the world,” said Doug Doerfler, president and CEO of MaxCyte.
“Many of these diseases, like ALS and DMD, have few or no treatments. We are honored to support Curamys’ efforts to develop its cell-fusion technology for novel cell-based treatments that provide hope and new options to patients and their families.”
“At Curamys, our goal is to use cell fusion-based technologies to transform the biomedical sciences by helping to identify genetic factors contributing to numerous rare diseases with unknown medical causes,” said Jung Joon Sung, CEO of Curamys.
“MaxCyte’s platform will enable us to advance this technology so we can expand our global reach and ultimately, help more patients living with rare diseases.”