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- Biotechnology company Cynata Therapeutics (CYP) has signed a worldwide exclusive licence agreement with TekCyte to advance a clinical trial for diabetic foot ulcers
- Diabeti(c foot ulcers represent a major unmet medical need which often results in hospitalisations, amputations and has an estimate market value of US$10 billion (roughly A$12.9 billion)
- TekCyte has developed multiple technologies that produce polymer-coated dressings to deliver mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to wounds
- The companies will use TekCyte’s technologies to commercially develop Cynata’s Cymerus MSC product for the upcoming clinical trial
- The licence is for the life of the relevant TekCyte patents and involves a signing fee as well as capped milestone payments
- Company shares are up 1.72 per cent and are trading at 59 cents
Cynata Therapeutics (CYP) has signed a worldwide exclusive licence agreement with TekCyte to advance a clinical trial for diabetic foot ulcers.
TekCyte is an Adelaide-based biotechnology company who has developed surface modification technologies that produce polymer-coated dressings to deliver mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to wounds.
The new agreement will see the companies utilise TekCyte’s technologies to commercially develop Cynata’s MSC product for diabetic foot ulcers.
Cynata also secured an option to purchase TekCyte’s technology outright.
“Diabetic foot ulcers represent a significant unmet medical need, with the disease often resulting in hospitalisations, amputations and fatalities — with an estimated market value of nearly US$10 billion [roughly A$12.9 billion],” Cynata Therapeutics Chief Operating Officer Dr Kilian Kelly said.
Cynata’s Cymerus technology is a therapeutic stem cell platform technology that uses induced pluripotent stem cells and a precursor cell to manufacture cell therapy products that reduce the reliance of multiple donors.
The Cooperative Research Centre for Cell Therapy Manufacturing conducted studies on the Cymerus MSCs to compare cells in a preclinical model of diabetic ulcers. The studies used TekCyte’s dressing which were seeded with MSCs or similar cells and have shown promising results.
TekCyte and Cynata will work together to manufacture and supply the active dressing for a planned clinical trial of the Cymerus MSC product in patients with diabetic foot ulcers.
“The encouraging data from the pre-clinical studies provides a strong basis for us to proceed with our Cymerus MSC product utilising TekCyte’s patch technology as a potential treatment,” he added.
The licence is for the life of the relevant TekCyte patents and involves a signing fee as well as capped milestone payments.
Company shares are up 1.72 per cent and are trading at 59 cents at 1:59 pm AEST.
