MDimune Inc. and Evercyte GmbH announced a strategic collaboration to develop tumor-targeted drug delivery by combining MDimune’s BioDrone® platform technology based on cell-derived vesicles (CDVs) and Evercyte’s technology to modify surface proteins to create tumor-specific binding affinity.
MDimune Inc. and Evercyte GmbH announced a strategic collaboration to develop tumor-targeted drug delivery by combining MDimune’s BioDrone® platform technology based on cell-derived vesicles (CDVs) and Evercyte’s technology to modify surface proteins to create tumor-specific binding affinity.
The current collaborative effort is based on the highly expandable BioDrone® platform of MDimune which synergizes with Evercyte’s novel and proprietary technology platform for the generation of targeted extracellular vesicles (EVs), being developed in cooperation with BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna / ACIB (Austrian Center of Industrial Biotechnolgy). This platform is based on the generation of a surface display library by randomization of an extracellular loop of EV surface proteins. Thereby, Evercyte can identify and isolate high-affinity binders to any surface molecule including specific tumor antigens, which then turns EVs, such as CDVs, into targeted drug delivery vehicles.
Seung Wook Oh, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of MDimune emphasized that “the collaboration with Evercyte will provide an extremely interesting opportunity for MDimune to move forward to achieving selective drug delivery.“ “The superior productivity of CDVs, compared to other EVs such as exosomes, will surely facilitate the development of tumor-targeted drug delivery approach,” said Dr. Oh.
“By forming this partnership with MDimune, targeting of extracellular vesicles to tumors will open up new avenues of drug targeting to tumors or of EV targeting in general,” said Regina Grillari (CTO, Evercyte). “In combination with our telomerized human cell lines as standardized EV production systems and our cell-based assay services, we will contribute to paving the road for EVs and exosomes to clinics,” added Dr. Grillari.
About MDimune:
MDimune, a South Korean biotech founded in 2015, has been committed to the development and implementation of state-of-the-art BioDrone® platform technology. BioDrone® is an innovative technology that relies on human-sourced CDVs, nanosized vesicles obtained from various cells by using a proprietary extrusion method to achieve target-specific drug delivery. With superior productivity compared to exosomes, BioDrone® is emerging as a highly versatile and scalable delivery system to combat diverse debilitating human diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration, and rare diseases.
MDimune is expanding its global network to harness effective tissue targeting strategy to achieve highly tissue-specific drug delivery. The company wishes to apply this novel BioDrone® platform to address various needs of pharmaceutical clients who are looking for effective drug carriers.
About Evercyte:
Evercyte is the leading provider of immortalized human primary-like cells (‘telomerized cells’) as well as novel production cell lines for extracellular vesicles and is the partner of choice for innovative cell-based assays in the field of pharma, biotech, or cosmetic industries.
The core technology used for the establishment of these highly relevant human cell lines relies on the reactivation of the human telomerase enzyme. Besides customer-tailored cell line development as a one-stop shop, Evercyte is steadily expanding its catalog of readily available cell lines for the production of extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stem cells using different tissues including Wharton’s Jelly, adipose tissue, bone marrow, and placenta.
By providing native extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stem cells and targeting extracellular vesicles Evercyte will make a significant contribution to the development of new therapeutic approaches.
Founded in 2011, the Vienna-based company successfully pioneered the development of tools and know-how necessary for the establishment of standardized high-throughput in vitro bioassays as well as relevant cell models and cell factories.
For more information, please visit company websites at http://www.mdimune.com/en/ and https://www.evercyte.com/.
Contact:
Evercyte:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Regina Grillari, Co-founder and CTO of Evercyte, regina.grillari@evercyte.com
MDimune:
Brin C. Choi, Business Development Manager of MDimune, jychoi@mdimune.com
