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MaxCyte licenses cell-engineering platform to Genentech across multiple programs

MaxCyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXCT), a Rockville, Maryland-based cell-engineering company, has entered a multi-platform technology license with Genentech, a member...

Edited by Robert McTiernan··2 min read
MaxCyte licenses cell-engineering platform to Genentech across multiple programs

Rockville, Maryland-based MaxCyte (Nasdaq: MXCT) has signed a multi-platform technology license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, giving the biotech access to MaxCyte's cell-engineering technologies across research, clinical development, and manufacturing.

Announced on July 21, the agreement supports multiple internal Genentech programs rather than a single therapeutic candidate. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The license covers MaxCyte's ExPERT GTx platform and additional undisclosed technologies for ex vivo cell engineering. Genentech will receive non-exclusive access to MaxCyte's flow electroporation systems, which use electrical pulses to transiently permeabilize cell membranes, enabling delivery of nucleic acids and other cargo without viral vectors.

MaxCyte's technology is already used in commercial manufacturing, including for Legend Biotech's approved CAR-T therapy Carvykti. The company has signed around 30 strategic platform license agreements, typically combining upfront licensing fees with development milestones, royalties, and instrument sales.

Unlike several previous agreements focused on individual programs or modalities, the Genentech collaboration spans multiple research and development programs, extending from discovery through cGMP manufacturing.

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The deal expands Genentech's cell therapy manufacturing capabilities as Roche continues to build its presence in the field. In late 2024, Genentech acquired Poseida Therapeutics, adding a portfolio of non-viral cell therapy candidates and transposon technology, while Roche is also developing the retinal pigment epithelium cell therapy OpRegen (RG6501) with Lineage Cell Therapeutics for geographic atrophy.

For MaxCyte, the agreement adds another large pharmaceutical customer to its platform licensing business. The company has recently expanded its commercial partnerships through an exclusive distribution agreement with PHC Holdings in Japan and a co-development collaboration with VectorBuilder focused on non-viral gene delivery for cell therapy manufacturing.

Neither company disclosed the agreement's duration, financial terms, or the specific Genentech programs that will use the licensed technologies.

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