MaxCyte Signs Strategic Platform License with Kamau Therapeutics to Accelerate the Development of Cell Therapies for Genetic Diseases

ROCKVILLE, Md. and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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

Forward-Looking Statements

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Risks and uncertainties related to our business are described in greater detail in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 12, 2024, as well as in discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in the other filings that we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on August 6, 2024. These documents are available through the Investor Menu, Financials section, under “SEC Filings” on the Investors page of our website at http://investors.maxcyte.com. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on our current beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject based on information available to us as of the date of such press release, and you should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.