Cellectis Receives $20 Million Convertible Note From Cytovia Therapeutics
Cellectis has received a $20 million convertible note from its partner Cytovia Therapeutics as an upfront payment for collaboration on gene-edited cell therapies.
Clinical-stage biotechnology company Cellectis announced it has received a $20 million convertible note from its partner Cytovia Therapeutics. This payment represents the upfront consideration for the research collaboration and license agreement established between the two companies in February 2021.
The note is set to convert into common stock of the combined company upon the completion of Cytovia's business combination with Isleworth Healthcare Acquisition Corp., a SPAC. The combined entity is expected to be listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol INKC. Cellectis also received a warrant for additional shares in the combined company.
Under the collaboration, Cellectis provides Cytovia with its TALEN® gene-editing technology to engineer induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into natural killer (NK) cells. Cytovia is responsible for differentiating, expanding, and developing these gene-edited NK cells for therapeutic use in cancer indications.
The collaboration, which was extended in November 2021 to include new targets and development in China, includes the $20 million note, along with potential development, regulatory, and sales milestones totaling up to $805 million. Cellectis will also receive single-digit royalties on net sales of partnered products.