Cellectis
 | |
| Société Anonyme | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: CLLS Allternext:ACLS.PA |
| Industry | Biotechnology, genome engineering, oncology |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Paris XIIIème (France), New York (New York) United States |
Key people | Michael Mahoney, David Sourdive |
| Products | Engineered CAR T-Cells, TALEN technology |
Number of employees | Approximately 105 Worldwide |
| Website | www.cellectis.com |
Cellectis a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies based on genome-edited CAR T-cells (UCARTs).[1] Cellectis was founded in 1999 and designs novel products including immune therapies for cancer and enzymes which can add DNA at targeted places in genomes.[2]
History
Cellectis was founded by André Choulika in 1999 through a licensing agreement with the Pasteur Institute. In 2005, scientists working at Cellectis showed that meganucleases could be used to edit a genome in vivo.[3] Subsequent work led to refinements in the use of precision nucleases, particularly transcription activator-like (TAL) effector nucleases (TALEN). In 2011, Cellectis acquired an exclusive license for the commercial application of TALEN technology from the University of Minnesota and began researching the use of TALEN to develop engineered immune cell therapies.
Cellectis has been trading on Alternext since 2007 and held an initial public offering on the NASDAQ exchange in March 2015.[4]
Products
Cancer immunotherapy
The company's portfolio includes several lines of proprietary chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting individual cancers. In 2014, Cellectis entered into strategic alliances with Servier and Pfizer to develop and commercialize "universal" CAR T-cells (UCARTs) targeting specific cancers. As of January 2016, Cellectis has five disclosed UCART products that are in various stages of clinical development.
In November 2015, Cellectis announced the first clinical use of its UCART technology. After she failed to respond to a traditional anti-cancer regimen, an 11-month old baby suffering from CD19+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia was treated at the Great Ormond Street Hospital with genome-edited donor T cells that had been engineered to attack leukemia cells. These cells had also been modified to be resistant to Alemtuzumab and to evade detection by the host immune system after introduction. A few weeks after therapy, the patient's condition improved, and the patient has been in remission for several months following treatment.[5]
Engineered nucleases
Cellectis is a leader in the use of precision genome editing technologies, including meganucleases, TAL effector nucleases (TALEN), and "megaTALs," which combine the benefits of both meganucleases and TALEN constructs. The use of these technologies allows for predictable and accurate gene editing.
Electroporation
Cellectis acquired Cyto Pulse in 2010, a company that had developed new electroporation technology that allows mRNA and DNA to be incorporated into cells with precise pulses of electricity.[6]
References
- ↑ Bryce Elder; Arash Massoud; Andrew Ward; David Crow (2015-05-28). "Biotech Cellectis in takeover talks with Pfizer". Financial Times. Retrieved 2016-03-16. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "How Servier saved Cellectis, the French CAR-T Miracle". Labiotech.eu. 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
- ↑ "history | cellectis". www.cellectis.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Cellectis - January 2016 Corporate Presentation" (PDF). Cellectis S.A. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
- ↑ "Paper: First Clinical Application of Talen Engineered Universal CAR19 T Cells in B-ALL". ash.confex.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
- ↑ "Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - Biotech from Bench to Business". Genengnews.com. 2013-11-08. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-16.