Under the agreement, the companies enter a strategic partnership where Logomix first provides genome editing capabilities to HebeCell for development of next generation designer protoNK cells. The combination of PSC-based platform with genome editing capabilities will significantly broaden and accelerate new development for screening de novo genetic modifications that enhance the persistence and efficacy of protoNK cells against cancers.
“We know our protoNK cells are strong cytotoxic cells. Our goal is to make PSC-derived protoNK more efficacious in vivo. This collaboration with Logomix will give us a very powerful toolbox to achieve that goal,” said John Lu, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at HebeCell Corp. “This collaboration expands our efforts to develop unique NK cell therapies, and has the potential to create something new and never seen before in the NK therapeutic field.”
“Logomix’s proprietary technology, Geno-Writing™ is a genome-writing platform that grants cell therapy developers unprecedented freedom to screen, design and write-in large-scale genomic alterations in human cells. Because our technology allows Mb-scale and scarless modifications, applied to any sequences at either or both alleles, it is an ideal tool to create source of allogeneic cell therapy with desired gene edits,” said Taiki Ishikura, CEO at Logomix Inc. “This collaboration with HebeCell demonstrates how our genome engineering technologies can be applied to the field of immuno-oncology and develop the next generation of cell therapy modalities more efficacious and safe to cancer patients.”
About HebeCell
HebeCell Corp, founded in 2016, is primarily engaged in developing universal and cost-effective NK cell therapeutics based on its proprietary 3D pluripotent stem cell (PSC) platform, the off-the-shelf ProtoNK™ cell products will be readily available to all patients worldwide for the treatment of cancer, viral infection, and autoimmune diseases. HebeCell’s team includes multiple world-leading experts in stem cell biology, as well as experienced entrepreneurs and business developers. The company operates a fully equipped state-of-the-art R&D and GMP facility in Natick, MA, one of the world’s largest biotech hubs. For more please see: https://hebecellcorp.com
About Logomix
Logomix is a Tokyo-based synthetic biology company, maximizing the potential of cells by its Mb-scale and ultra-accurate genome engineering. Using its proprietary genome engineering platform Geno-Writing™, Logomix has developed multiple iPS cell lines as universal donor cells available for licensing. Logomix is also participating in development collaboration with biotech companies and academia to enable accelerated development of next generation cell therapy modalities with augmented functionality. For more information, visit http://logomix.bio/en.
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