MaxCyte Inc (AIM:MXCT) said it signed a strategic platform license (SPL) for its Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT platform with Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX), a biotechnology company.
The AIM-listed company will receive platform licensing fees and program-related revenue from the gene editing therapy through the agreement, it said.
Vertex will gain non-exclusive clinical and commercial rights to use the Flow Electroporation technology, which is used for the production of proteins, and the non-viral cell engineering platform under the terms of the agreement.
According to a statement from the cell-engineering company, Vertex will use the technology and platform to develop its CRISPR/Cas9-based gene-edited therapy, exa-cel, which precisely cuts DNA before letting the natural DNA repair process take over.
Shares in the US company, listed in London, jumped 5% to 550p in afternoon trading.