AFFYXEL Therapeutics and Xcell Therapeutics sign MOU to develop proprietary media for stem cell therapies 

AFFYXEL Therapeutics (CEO Seung Ho Jeon, Jong Sang Yoo), a joint venture between Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Abbott Laboratories of the United Kingdom, announced on the 20th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Xcell Therapeutics (CEO Lee Yi Il), a leading cell culture media company, to develop customized media for gene-adapted stem cell therapies (AFX platform).

Prior to the agreement, the two companies were selected for the '2022 SME Win-Win Innovation Project' organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The SME Win-Win Innovation Project is a project that supports joint technology development and induces performance sharing among small and medium-sized enterprises, and is promoted to discover and spread win-win innovation R&D models led by small and medium-sized enterprises. In the future, the two companies will receive KRW 850 million in government funding for two years and use it for joint research costs.

The business agreement reflects the purpose of the SME Win-Win Innovation Project to create an exemplary success story for SMEs and expand cooperation in the future.

Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly develop cell culture media essential for the next-generation cell gene therapy development platform (AFX platform) being developed by AFFYXEL Therapeutics to enhance technology independence and jointly promote the development of customized media that meet the enhanced safety standards of regulatory agencies.

Through this agreement, AFFYXEL Therapeutics expects to increase culture efficiency by developing customized chemical composition media for the AFX platform and accelerate the development of cytogenetic therapies by securing a source of media with enhanced safety.

"The selection of AFFYXEL Therapeutics as a participant in the 2022 Midsize Company Win-Win Innovation Project recognizes the differentiation of AFFYXEL Therapeutics and Xcell Therapeutics technologies," said Dr. Jong-Sang Yoo, CEO of AFFYXEL Therapeutics. "We will continue to develop new standards for cytogenetic therapies and create industry-leading success stories through joint development with Xcell Therapeutics."

"We are grateful to AFFYXEL Therapeutics for recognizing the technological and industrial value of serum-free chemotactic media in the development and commercialization of cellular therapeutics," said Dr. Lee Yi Il, CEO of Xcell Therapeutics. "Through the successful execution of this project, we will demonstrate our biomaterial development technology with global competitiveness."

Source : Medical News Korea (http://www.bosa.co.kr)