CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Novellus
Therapeutics ("Novellus"), an engineered cellular medicines
company, announced today that it has licensed its induced
mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) on a worldwide basis to NoveCite,
Inc., a newly formed subsidiary of Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
("Citius") (Nasdaq: CTXR), a specialty pharmaceutical company
focused on developing and commercializing critical care drug
products. NoveCite will develop and commercialize Novellus's iMSCs
to treat acute respiratory conditions with a near term focus on
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome ("ARDS") associated with
COVID-19. Novellus is a 25% equity holder in NoveCite. Novellus
received a $5 million upfront
payment, and is eligible to receive up to $51 million in development milestone payments, as
well as low double-digit royalties.
Novellus Therapeutics Exclusively Licenses Induced Mesenchymal Stem
Cells (iMSCs) to NoveCite
iMSCs are a next-generation cell therapy product created from
induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with the following
advantages:
- Created using a patented non-immunogenic mRNA cell
reprogramming process
- Derived from a single donor and produced from a clonal,
perpetual master cell bank
- Streamlined manufacturing process enables near-unlimited
supply
- Superior immunomodulatory protein secretion compared to
donor-derived MSCs
"Novellus's iMSCs have the potential to be a breakthrough in the
field of cellular therapy for acute respiratory conditions because
of their high potency as demonstrated in our pre-clinical studies,
as well as our ability to cost-effectively provide high doses and
repeat doses." said Myron Holubiak,
CEO of Citius.
"We are excited to be developing iMSCs because of their promise
to save lives and reduce long term sequelae in patients with
devastating respiratory diseases such as ARDS caused by COVID-19,"
said Matt Angel, Chief Science
Officer of Novellus. He continued, "Our iMSCs have multimodal
immunomodulatory mechanisms of action that make them promising for
treatment of acute respiratory diseases."
About Novellus Therapeutics Limited
Novellus is a
pre-clinical stage biotechnology company developing engineered
cellular medicines using its patented non-immunogenic mRNA,
high-specificity gene editing, mutation-free & footprint-free
cell reprogramming and serum-insensitive mRNA lipid delivery
technologies. Novellus is privately held and is headquartered in
Cambridge, MA. For more
information, please visit www.novellustx.com.
About NoveCite, Inc.
NoveCite, Inc. is a newly formed
subsidiary of Citius Pharmaceuticals, a late-stage specialty
pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and
commercialization of critical care products, with a focus on
anti-infectives and cancer care. For more information, please visit
www.citiuspharma.com.
Contact: john.westman@novellustx.com
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SOURCE Novellus Therapeutics