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MaxCyte agrees licensing deal with next-generation CAR T pioneer

Last updated: 12:22 24 Mar 2020 GMT, First published: 07:41 24 Mar 2020 GMT

MaxCyte Inc -

Shares in MaxCyte Inc (LON:MXCT) surged 10% after it said it had signed a licensing deal with a company developing the next wave of cancer immunotherapies.

Allogene Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALLO) will use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation platform and ExPERT technology to “develop and advance” its allogeneic CAR T treatments.

MaxCyte will receive “undisclosed development, approval and commercial milestones in addition to other licensing fees”.

"We're honoured to partner with Allogene to help unlock the full potential of its next-generation allogeneic CAR T therapies through utilisation of our Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT platform," said MaxCyte chief executive Doug Doerfler.

Allogeneic cell therapy being pioneered by Allogene Therapeutics takes the same biological processes that allowed the first generation CAR T treatments to deliver breakthrough clinical benefits, but eliminates the need to create a personalised therapy for each patient.

Instead, AlloCAR T starts with T cells from healthy donors, which is intended to allow for the creation of an inventory for “off-the-shelf” use in patients faster, more reliably, and at greater scale.

Work using the MaxCyte technology will focus initially on B-lymphocyte antigen CD19 and B-cell maturation antigen targets.

MaxCyte describes its Flow Electroporation system as being able to deliver “virtually any molecule, to any cell, at any scale”. Its ExPERT technology set takes this a step forward by allowing scientists to carry out complex cell engineering.

"MaxCyte's ExPERT platform has become the industry standard in electroporation technology and allows us to increase efficiency and improve yield, which is a critical component to the value proposition of our AlloCAR T therapies," said Alison Moore, chief technical officer of Allogene. 

In early afternoon trading, the stock was changing hands for 135p, up 12.5p.

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