Syncona Ltd.

04/05/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/05/2022 00:10

Resolution Therapeutics and panCELLa Inc announce a Research Evaluation & Option Agreement to develop iPSC-derived macrophage cell therapy for inflammatory organ disease

Granting Resolution an Option to a Commercial License to panCELLa's FailSafe™ and iACT StealthCells™ Technology

London and Toronto, 5 April, 2022 - Resolution Therapeutics Limited ("Resolution"), a biopharmaceutical company developing macrophage cell therapy to treat advanced liver disease, and panCELLa Inc, ("panCELLa") a private biotechnology company which makes cell lines incorporating therapeutic cell-focused Platform Technologies that are widely available for the treatment of degenerative, infectious and malignant diseases, today announced a research collaboration to develop iPSC-derived macrophage cell therapies. Under the agreement, panCELLa is providing its hypo-immunogenic engineered iPSC technology to Resolution. Resolution is using its proprietary macrophage engineering and manufacturing technology to develop "off-the-shelf" macrophage cell therapies. As part of this agreement Resolution has an option to obtain commercial rights to use the panCELLa technology in the field of macrophage biology.

panCELLa, a specialist in developing cell-based therapies for a broad range of diseases, provides safe therapeutic cell products. Under the terms of the collaboration, Resolution will have access to two of panCELLa's platforms, FailSafeTM and induced Allogeneic Cell Tolerance (iACT Stealth CellsTM), which paves the way for Resolution to progress the development of its allogeneic macrophage programme, expanding the Company's pipeline with iPSC-derived macrophages. This technology has the potential to guarantee long term engraftment of cells, which, in turn, could enable an unprecedented level of safety. Specifically, the iACT Stealth CellsTM protect the implanted cells from the patient's immune system offering long-term allogeneic-tolerance without the need for immune suppression. FailSafeTM is a superior safety switch. Unlike others, it will not be lost or silenced as it is precisely linked to cell division. Any time that cells deregulate or "go rogue" they can be eliminated while still allowing the therapeutic non-dividing cells to continue to do their work.

"We are thrilled to partner with panCELLA, a pioneer in the development of safe iPSC-derived cell therapies," said Edward Hodgkin, Chairman and CEO of Resolution. "We believe panCELLa's technology has the potential to overcome the dual challenge of preventing host immune rejection of allogeneic cell therapy, while adding to their safety, which will be key to delivering durable patient benefit."

"Resolution technology and innovation are impressive and we believe in their plan for the development of macrophage cell therapy for advanced liver disease," said Mahendra Rao, Chairman of panCELLa." Resolution is well-positioned to develop off-the-shelf products that maintain optimal macrophage function with prevention of immune rejection, which are critical for persistent engraftment of cells and clinical benefit."

Resolution is developing macrophage cell therapies to repair inflammatory organ damage, with a focus on treatment of end-stage chronic liver disease. Macrophages are cells of the innate immune system which orchestrate the body's defence against infection and injury; the company is built upon more than a decade of work in the Founders' laboratories characterising the role of macrophages in organ repair, including the liver, both in the pre-clinical and clinical settings.

panCELLa aims to make its therapeutics cell focused Platform Technologies widely available for the treatment of degenerative, infectious and malignant diseases. panCELLa continues its internal R&D efforts to develop additional novel uses of its platform technologies in areas such as bio-production, cancer vaccination and tolerization.

The terms of the collaboration have not been disclosed.

- Ends -

Further information:

JW Communications

Julia Wilson

+44 (0)7818 430877

[email protected]

Notes for Editors:

About Resolution

Resolution Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing macrophage cell therapies to treat advanced liver disease. The Company is built upon more than a decade of work in the Founders' laboratories characterising the role of macrophages in organ repair, including the liver, both in the pre-clinical and clinical settings. Resolution will discover, develop, and take to market macrophage cell therapies based on its proprietary platform of macrophage biology, cell engineering and manufacturing processes. www.resolution-tx.com

About panCELLa

Founded in 2015, panCELLa is a privately-held early-stage biotechnology firm based on the innovative technology developed in Dr. Andras Nagy's lab at the Sinai Health System (SHS). panCELLa has created platforms that allow for the development of safe, universal, "off-the-shelf" cell lines. To learn more, visit https://pancella.com