MaxCyte Minutes Newsletter – Q1 2024
Welcome to the first edition of MaxCyte Minutes for 2024!
We’re starting the year on a high, having achieved a historic milestone at the end of last year, and with the appointment of our new CEO and the announcement of three new partnerships.
The first MaxCyte-enabled CRISPR-based cell therapy received approval in the EU, US, and other countries worldwide for the treatment of sickle cell disease. This is a testament to our technology, which is currently the only clinically validated platform for non-viral delivery in cell therapy development.
On January 1, we were thrilled to announce Maher Masoud as our new CEO. Maher has been a part of our team for over seven years, and his leadership promises exciting times ahead for MaxCyte and the industry.
We’re proud to share our progress and plans with you. Thank you for being a part of our journey!
IN THE NEWS
Press Release: MaxCyte and Lion TCR form Partnership to Support Global Expansion of Lion TCR's TCR-T Cell Pipeline
MaxCyte has partnered with Lion TCR, a clinical-stage biotech company that specializes in the development and commercialization of its proprietary engineered T Cell Receptor therapies. This partnership will support Lion TCR’s efforts to advance the autologous and allogeneic T cell receptor therapies in their pipeline focused on hepatocellular carcinoma and other virus-associated diseases.
Press Release: MaxCyte Signs Strategic Platform License with Imugene to Advance their Cancer Immunotherapy Programs
MaxCyte has signed a new strategic platform license with Imugene Limited, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing a range of new treatments that seek to activate the immune system of cancer patients to identify and eradicate tumors. This partnership will enable them to use our Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERTTM platform to advance novel cell therapies and potentially reach more patients. We are excited to support Imugene’s advancement of novel cell therapies to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
Press Release: 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
We are excited to announce our new strategic platform license with Wugen, a biotechnology company committed to engineering the next generation of off-the-shelf cell therapies to treat a broad range of hematological and solid tumor malignancies.
Article: On the Charge: MaxCyte Celebrates Role in Sickle Cell Therapy Breakthrough
After interviewing Maher Masoud and Jim Brady, Kevin Davies, editor of GEN, presents an exploration of MaxCyte's history, its impact on the cell and gene therapy field—especially following the commercial approval for the first MaxCyte enables CRISPR based cell therapy (Vertex’s casgevyTM)—and a glimpse into its future.
FEATURED VIDEO
Rapid Road to Qualification: A Breakthrough Story Against Time with Joan Foster, Principal Field Application Specialist
At MaxCyte, we pride ourselves on the exceptional scientific support provided by our Field Application Scientists, a fact often echoed by our customers. In this edition, we feature Joan Foster, our Principal Field Application Specialist. Joan’s unwavering dedication and scientific acumen have been instrumental in helping a stealth mode cell therapy company navigate a critical challenge. Her expertise enabled the company to successfully reach their next inflection point. In this video, hear more about Joan’s story and how our team continues to make a difference in the cell therapy landscape.
CELL & GENE THERAPY
NEW eBook: Navigate the challenges of immunotherapy development with MaxCyte
Dive into advancements in immunotherapy with the first eBook in our series, “Exploring Electroporation 1: Immunotherapy”. This inaugural volume takes you to the cutting-edge of genome engineering. Discover how multiplex targeting of cell surface receptors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and novel approaches to homology-directed repair are unlocking the incredible potential of NK and T cell engineering.
Learn how MaxCyte’s electroporation technology enables efficient and precise delivery of diverse payloads to primary cells, enabling rapid and clinically scalable manufacturing and fostering breakthroughs in immunotherapy.
CELL-BASED ASSAYS
Unlocking the Potential of Electroporation for Studying Ion Channel-Related Disorders and iPSCs
In this GEN webinar, Dr. Alfred George discusses an electroporation approach that addresses efficiency challenges enabling cell engineering at an unprecedented scale. Dr George discusses how MaxCyte electroporation was used to express human ion channel variants in cultured mammalian cells to enable high throughput automated patch clamp recording. The MaxCyte STXTM enabled functional evaluation of ion channel variants without requiring stable cell line creation. Lastly, Dr George describes how MaxCyte electroporation can be used to create or correct mutations in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for modeling human genetic diseases and providing proof of concept for gene therapy.
FOCUS ON
Interview with Maher Masoud, CEO
We delve into Maher’s journey to becoming President and CEO of MaxCyte in January 2024, highlighting his extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry spanning over 25 years. With a background in both law and cell and molecular biology genetics, Maher's unique blend of expertise positions him as an impressive leader in the field. We explore the sources of his inspiration, including the brave determination of his immigrant parents and the entrepreneurial spirit of industry pioneers like Hugh Mackie and Sam Eletr. Furthermore, he shares his approach as an operational leader, “I want to understand what everyone is working on and how it impacts our customers, to see how I can help. I want to ensure that every person in every position has the knowledge, capabilities and support needed to grow within our organization and become a leader. To me, it is important to teach and lead by example.”
MEET US
Cell & Gene Meeting on the Med - Apr 9 - Apr 11, 2024, Rome, Italy
Membrane Physiology Symposium - Apr 22 - Apr 23, 2024, Napa, California
CRISPR Medicine Conference- Apr 23 - Apr 25, 2024, Copenhagen, Denmark
ISCT Annual Meeting – International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy- May 29 - Jun 1, 2024, Vancouver, Canada
ASGCT Annual Meeting – American Society for Gene Cell & Therapy- May 31 - Jun 3, 2023 Baltimore, Maryland
