MaxCyte and Wugen Sign Strategic Platform License to Expedite Scale-Up of Clinical and Commercial Manufacturing of Wugen’s Investigational Allogeneic, Off-the-Shelf Cell Therapies for Cancers

ROCKVILLE, Md. and ST. LOUIS, Jan. 30, 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 Wugen, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing allogeneic, off-the-shelf cell therapies to treat a broad range of hematological and solid tumor malignancies, today announced the signing of a strategic platform license (SPL).

Under the terms of the agreement, Wugen gains non-exclusive clinical and commercial rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation^® technology and ExPERT™ platform. In return, MaxCyte will receive annual license fees and program-related revenue.

Wugen is developing the next generation of off-the-shelf memory natural killer (NK) and CAR-T cell therapies for cancer. The company’s investigational cell therapies originate from healthy donors and are further engineered to enhance their function of eliminating cancer cells. Wugen’s lead program is evaluating WU-CART-007, a CD7 targeted CAR-T cell therapy, in a global Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)/lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) in adolescent and adult patients. WU-CART-007 has received Orphan Drug, Fast Track, and Rare Pediatric Disease Designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of R/R T-ALL/LBL. Additional information is available on clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT# 04984356.

“As WU-CART-007 is transferred onto the ExPERT platform and continues to progress in the clinic, we are able to support efficient and seamless expansion to large-scale manufacturing,” said Maher Masoud, President and CEO of MaxCyte. “By working with MaxCyte, Wugen can maximize the number of doses in each manufacturing run for later stage clinical development and potential commercial phase.”

“Our partnership with MaxCyte is an exciting step in advancing our groundbreaking therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers,” said Kumar Srinivasan, PhD, MBA, President and CEO of Wugen. “This collaboration brings us even closer to delivering life-saving treatments to patients with limited options. With MaxCyte's expertise, we're in a position to expedite progress through crucial development stages and make a significant impact on patients’ lives.”

MaxCyte’s ExPERT™ instrument portfolio represents the next generation of clinically validated electroporation technology for complex and scalable cell engineering. Offering high transfection efficiency, seamless scalability, and enhanced functionality, the ExPERT™ platform is crucial for enabling the next wave of biological and cellular therapeutics. Wugen is MaxCyte’s 26^th clinical/commercial partnership overall, each of which generates pre-commercial milestone revenue, the vast majority of which includes sales-based payments.

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 scientific, 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 (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.

About Wugen

Wugen, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing the next generation of off-the-shelf memory natural killer (NK) and CAR-T cell therapies for cancer. Wugen is leveraging its proprietary Moneta™ platform and deep genomic engineering expertise to pioneer a new class of memory NK cell therapies to treat hematological and solid tumor malignancies. For more information, please visit https://wugen.com/

MaxCyte Contacts:

US IR Adviser
Gilmartin Group
David Deuchler, CFA
+1 415-937-5400
ir@maxcyte.com

US Media Relations
Spectrum Seismic Collaborative
Valerie Enes
+1 408-497-8568
venes@spectrumscience.com

Nominated Adviser and Joint Corporate Broker
Panmure Gordon
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

Wugen Contacts:

Investor Contact
Mark Lewis
+1 314-501-1968
Mlewis@wugen.com

Media Contact
Christine Fanelle
Scient PR
+1 215-595-5211
christine@scientpr.com