MaxCyte
Signs Strategic Platform
License Agreement with Legend Biotech to Accelerate Cell Therapy
Discovery and Development
Legend
Biotech obtains
license to use MaxCyte's Flow
Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ platform to
support its
non-viral
engineered pipeline portfolio across a variety of cell types
including T cells, Gamma-Delta T cells and NK
Cells.
ROCKVILLE, MD, May 22, 2024 - 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, today
announced it has entered into
a strategic platform license
(SPL) agreement with Legend Biotech, a
global leader in cell therapy.
Under the terms of the
SPL, Legend Biotech
obtains a non-exclusive worldwide license
to use MaxCyte's Flow Electroporation® technology
and ExPERT™ platform in connection with the
research, clinical development and commercialization of cell-based
therapeutical products (Licensed Products). In return, MaxCyte will be eligible to
receive annual licensing fees and milestones from Legend Biotech
during clinical development and, upon successful commercialization,
is eligible to receive licensing fees and royalties on net sales of
licensed products.
"We are looking forward to
supporting Legend Biotech's non-viral engineered cell therapy
program as they expand their portfolio with new delivery
modalities. As a leading provider of cell-engineered platform
technologies for drug developers, our global infrastructure allows
us to provide Legend Biotech with technical, scientific, and
regulatory support to advance its non-viral engineered therapeutic
pipeline across all major regions," said Maher Masoud, President and CEO of
MaxCyte. "We are thrilled to enable Legend Biotech in
scaling and optimizing its manufacturing process to meet their
expanding clinical and commercial needs."
"MaxCyte's clinical manufacturing platform, non-viral
cell engineering technology, and regulatory expertise will support
the development of our product pipeline across a wide variety of
cell types and modalities," said Ying Huang PhD, Chief Executive Officer of
Legend Biotech. "Our goal is to transform the treatment
landscape by creating a broad portfolio of cell therapies to help
strengthen patients' immune systems and fight disease."
MaxCyte's ExPERT™ instrument
portfolio is the next generation of leading, clinically-validated
electroporation technology for complex and scalable cell
engineering. By delivering high transfection efficiency, seamless
scalability and enhanced functionality, the ExPERT™ platform
delivers the high-end performance essential to enabling the next
wave of biological and cellular therapeutics. Legend Biotech is
MaxCyte's 28th clinical / commercial
partnership overall, each partnership generates
pre-commercial milestone revenue, the vast majority of which
includes program-related revenue.
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.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe
harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. These statements about us and our industry involve
substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions, including those described in Item 1A under the heading
"Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our report on Form 10-K, that may
cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. All statements other than statements of historical
facts contained in this press release, including statements
regarding our future results of operations or financial condition,
business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future
operations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the
Company's expectations regarding annual licensing revenue,
pre-commercial milestone revenue, including program related revenue
and royalties on sales of products. In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements because they contain words such as
"may," "might," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect,"
"plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "expect," "estimate,"
"seek," "predict," "future," "project," "potential," "continue,"
"contemplate," "target," the negative of these words and similar
words or expressions. These statements are inherently uncertain,
and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on these statements.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release,
include, without limitation, statements concerning the following:
our expected future growth and success of our business model; the
size and growth potential of the markets for our products, and our
ability to serve those markets, increase our market share, and
achieve and maintain industry leadership; our ability to expand our
customer base and enter into additional SPL partnerships; our
expectation that our partners will have access to capital markets
to develop and commercialize their cell therapy programs; our
financial performance and capital requirements; the adequacy of our
cash resources and availability of financing on commercially
reasonable terms; our expectations regarding our ability to obtain
and maintain intellectual property protection for our products, as
well as our ability to operate our business without infringing the
intellectual property rights of others; our expectations regarding
general market and economic conditions that may impact investor
confidence in the biopharmaceutical industry and affect the amount
of capital such investors provide to our current and potential
partners; and our use of available capital resources.
These and other risks and
uncertainties are described in greater detail in Item 1A , entitled
"Risk Factors," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC") on March 12, 2024, as well as in discussions of
potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in the
other filings that we make with the Securities and Exchange
Commission from time to time, including in our Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on May 7, 2024.
These documents are available through the Investor Menu, Financials
section, under "SEC Filings" on the Investors page of our website
at http://investors.maxcyte.com.
Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on
our current beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject based on
information available to us as of the date of such press release,
and you should not rely on forward-looking statements as
predictions of future events. We undertake no obligation to update
any forward-looking statements made in this press release to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press
release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of
unanticipated events, except as required by law.
MaxCyte Contacts:
US IR
Adviser
Gilmartin
Group
David Deuchler, CFA
+1 415-937-5400
ir@maxcyte.com
US Media
Relations
Spectrum Seismic
Collaborative
Anya Bolshem
abolshem@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