AffyXell, a joint venture between Avacta Group and South Korean drug maker Daewoong Pharmaceutical, has expanded its strategic partnership with GenScript ProBio, a biopharmaceutical manufacturer.
AffyXell, established in January 2020, is developing cell and gene therapies based on mesenchymal stem cells which incorporate Avacta’s Affimer immunotherapies. This class of stem cell therapy is designed to produce Affimer proteins, which reduce inflammatory or autoimmune responses to stem cell therapy and potentially enhance their therapeutic effects.
GenScript ProBio, part of Genscript Biotech Corporation, is a global CDMO which provides a platform for research and development of biological drugs, DNA plasmids and lentiviruses, and for clinical production of cell and gene therapy products.
The organisations are extending their strategic manufacturing partnership - which was established in December 2021 and previously covered AffyXell’s first drug development programme - to include additional future programmes. The partnership covers process development and production of viral vectors required for the production of AffyXell’s future cell therapy products.
As part of the strategic alliance, GenScript has committed to take an equity position in AffyXell at a future funding round, and the two companies will collaborate in the area of business development, including potential out licensing.
Jongsang Ryu, CEO of AffyXell, commented: “We were able to attract strategic investment from the CDMO partner as the excellence and potential of our next-generation cell therapy platform have been recognised.”
“This agreement will be an opportunity to accelerate the development of therapies targeting intractable diseases, providing meaningful options for the suffering patients.”
Dr Brian Min, CEO of GenScript ProBio commented: “We are pleased to partner with AffyXell and are honoured to support this next-generation cell therapy project with GenScript ProBio’s stable and high-yield viral vector platform. We expect many patients to benefit from this innovative genetically modified mesenchymal stem cells therapy soon.”
