Everybody's Talkin' About New Houston Biotech Startup Cellenkos

September 19, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

Golden Meditech Holdings (SEHK), based in Hong Kong, and The University of Texas at MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, Texas, announced the launch of a biotech company, Cellenkos. Cellenkos will be based in Houston and will focus on umbilical cord blood derived T-regulatory (T-reg) cellular therapies.

T-regs exist naturally in the body and participate in regulating the inflammatory response of other cells.

The startup is launched with an initial investment of $10 million. Golden Meditech and independent investor have warrants to acquire another $10 million worth of shares.

Golden Meditech is an integrated healthcare company in China. It has dominant positions in several markets, including medical devices, hospital management, and cord blood storage.

Based on research by Simrit Parmar, an associate professor in the MD Anderson Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, Cellenkos will use T-reg therapies to potentially treat autoimmune diseases.

“This pairing of the therapeutic potential of cord-blood derived T-regs and the cord blood banks owned and managed by Golden Meditech is good news for our patients,” said Parmar, in a statement. “Cord blood T-reg technology has the potential to transform unused cord blood units into therapeutic assets. A major advantage of using cord blood T-regs compared with peripheral blood T-regs is their stability and superior suppressive effect. In addition, the cord blood units are immediately available, off-the-shelf.”

Another startup working in this area is Delinia, which launched last week with a $35 million Series A round co-led by Sofinnova Partners and Atlas Venture. It will have offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and research facilities in San Francisco. That company is also working to develop T-reg therapies. Its protein therapeutic platform is based on research by co-founder and chief scientific officer, Jeffrey Greve.

Delinia is focused on balancing and restoring normal immune regulation in patients with immune and autoimmune diseases. The typical current treatment is to suppress the immune system overall, which invites infections. T-reg-based technologies have the potential to restore the immune system to a more normal function.

In terms of Cellenkos, Golden Meditech and its investor will collectively own 51 percent the startup’s voting stock after the exercise of the warrants. Part of the deal includes options to market any developed T-reg tech into key Asian markets.

Golden Meditech’s cord blood storage facilities have more than 500,000 subscribers in the first half of 2016. This provides Cellenkos with a significant data pool to draw on, as well as possible marketing possibilities.

“We have been very impressed with the cord blood T-reg technologies,” Kam Yuen, founder and chairman of Golden Meditech said in a statement. “Potential medical benefits available through utilization of umbilical cord stem cells will increasingly serve to save lives and enhance the quality of life. We believe the collaboration with MD Anderson will further advance the real-life applications of cord blood stem cells.”