MaxCyte Signs Strategic Platform License with Nkarta, Inc. to Advance Natural Killer Cell Therapy Programs

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO and GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MaxCyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXCT; LSE: MXCT, MXCN), a leading provider of enabling platform technologies for ex-vivo cell engineering, today announces the signing of a strategic platform license (SPL) with Nkarta Inc, a biopharmaceutical company developing engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nkarta obtains non-exclusive clinical and commercial rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation^® technology and ExPERT™ platform. In return, MaxCyte is entitled to receive platform licensing fees and program-related milestone payments.

The Nkarta approach maximizes the therapeutic effect of allogeneic NK cells through robust expansion, enhanced targeting and extended persistence resulting in potent immune cells that enable a sustained anti-cancer immune-mediated attack.

“Broad access to the most powerful and promising enabling technologies is critical to our success and the innovation of next-generation NK cell therapies for cancer patients,” said Paul J. Hastings, Nkarta’s President and CEO. “MaxCyte’s electroporation technology leads the field and we’re excited to leverage the advantages of their transfection technology with our integrated cell engineering platform.”

Doug Doerfler, President and CEO of MaxCyte, said: “We are proud to support Nkarta’s pioneering platform that has the potential to boost the body’s immune response to fight cancer. Our team is thrilled to be working with a leader in developing novel products leveraging the unique power of NK cells for the treatment of patients with cancer.”

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. Nkarta, Inc. is MaxCyte’s 15th SPL adding to three MaxCyte partnerships year-to-date, which generate pre-commercial milestone revenue and the vast majority of which include post-commercial revenue.

About MaxCyte

MaxCyte is a leading commercial cell-engineering company focused on providing enabling platform technologies to advance innovative cell-based research as well as next-generation cell therapeutic discovery, development and commercialization. Over the past 20 years, we have developed and commercialized our proprietary Flow Electroporation^® platform, which facilitates complex engineering of a wide variety of cells. 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: three instruments, the ATx™, STx™ and GTx™; a portfolio of proprietary related processing assemblies or disposables; and software protocols, all supported by a robust worldwide intellectual property portfolio.