MaxCyte Inc. entered a research agreement with Angiogene Inc. to develop a recuperative treatment for congestive heart failure caused by myocardial infarction using MaxCyte's GT cell-loading system.
"We're developing a nonviral cell-loading system, and we're perfecting it for them so they can use the transformed cells, or those transfected with the gene that promotes blood cell growth, for their clinical work," said MaxCyte President and CEO Douglas Doerfler.
Although specific financial terms were not disclosed, Doerfler said his company would receive an up-front payment followed by payments triggered by milestones.
Jeannette Fareh, Angiogene's director of research, said its AngioCell program begins with surgery on a patient to remove cells, which are then placed in culture. Those cells are modified using MaxCyte's cell-loading technology, which produces what Angiogene calls AngioCells. The AngioCells are re-administered to the patient via a catheter.
In the MaxCyte collaboration, the AngioCell program will be used to load muscle precursor cells with a patented gene construct to stimulate angiogenesis in the diseased myocardium of the heart.
Privately held Angiogene, of Montreal, will test the treatment first in preclinical studies. Doerfler said the short-term goal is to complete those studies successfully before moving on to clinical trials.
The companies said that according to the American Heart Association, 7.7 million Americans suffer from myocardial infarction each year, while 4.7 million Americans have chronic heart failure. Susan Baldwin, vice president of business development at Angiogene, said her company is the first to use the technology for the indication of congestive heart failure.
MaxCyte, of Rockville, Md., also has a collaboration with EntreMed Inc., its majority owner, in which MaxCyte is screening certain genes and using those genes for potential gene delivery for angiogenesis.
"We are also working with a number of academic and commercial entities in immunotherapy-loading dendritic cells with genes and antigens," Doerfler said.
MaxCyte has one therapeutic, a cell-based oxygen product, in Phase I trials at the University of Cincinnati, Doerfler said.
"We are greatly improving the efficiency with which we can load genes in the cell," Doerfler said. "It's a sterile method, so it can be done close to the patient without the need for specialized facilities."