Cellergy Pharma uses CAR T-cell technology developed in a Nemours laboratory to treat severe allergic diseases
WILMINGTON, Del. (May 23, 2024) – Cellergy Pharma Inc., a preclinical biotechnology firm that licenses its key technology from Nemours Children’s Health, has received a $100,000 Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion (EDGE) grant from the Delaware Division of Small Business.
The EDGE grant is the latest recognition for the startup company, which aims to use
chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to address allergic diseases, including uncontrolled severe allergic asthma and severe food allergies.
Several CAR T-cell therapies have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat certain blood cancers. Cellergy Pharma’s lead product, known as CP-010, is based on a novel use of CAR T-cell technology that was developed by Zhengyu “Mark” Ma, MD, PhD, Research Scientist and Head of the T Cell Immunology Laboratory at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware and Chief Science Officer of Cellergy Pharma. Ma conducted his research with the support of Nemours Biomedical Research, a division of the Nemours Foundation which supports researchers working toward cutting-edge discoveries in translational science.
Ma explained that CP-010 targets the cells that produce immunoglobulin E (IgE), an antibody that causes all atopic allergic disease. CP-010 works in the same general way as the CAR T-cell therapies that have been approved to treat cancer: Blood is removed from the patient’s body, and T cells from the blood are engineered with a chimeric antigen receptor to enable the CAR T cells to find and eradicate the target cells of interest.
Ma said preclinical research shows that CP-010 can potentially alleviate asthma and allergies with a single treatment and no side effects. “Based on current evaluations, our approach holds the promise of achieving long-term symptom relief of allergic diseases,” Ma said.
Ronald P. Dudek, President of Cellergy Pharma, said the EDGE grant will allow Cellergy Pharma to add to its staff and further equip its lab, which is based in the 130,000-square-foot Innovation Space at the DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware.
“We are thrilled to receive the EDGE grant, which will help us continue the development of the CAR T-cell product from its earliest stage in a Nemours lab through the clinical testing process,” Dudek said. “CP-010 holds tremendous potential to benefit patients suffering from severe asthma and other severe allergic diseases.”
The EDGE grant is the second significant grant awarded to Cellergy Pharma this year. In January, the company received a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award of $300,000 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The company expects to start first-in-human clinical studies of CP-010 in 2026.
The EDGE grant competition is open to businesses that are less than seven years old and employ no more than 10 full-time employees. More than 100 companies applied to this year’s competition, and 14 finalists were selected to pitch their proposals to an outside expert panel of judges. Cellergy Pharma is one of five STEM-based companies that received grants. Five non-STEM businesses each received $50,000 grants.
“We are thrilled that Cellergy Pharma has been recognized with an EDGE grant,” said Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP, Executive Vice-President, Enterprise Physician-in-Chief, and Chief Scientific Officer of Nemours Children’s Health. “Breakthroughs that begin in Nemours laboratories require support like this so that our scientists can continue developing new treatment options to ultimately benefit children’s health. We look forward to the next wave of progress from Cellergy Pharma as they work toward expanding this technology to additional patient populations.”
About Nemours Children’s Health
Nemours Children’s Health is one of the nation’s largest multistate pediatric health systems, which includes two free-standing children's hospitals and a network of more than 70 primary and specialty care practices. Nemours Children's seeks to transform the health of children by adopting a holistic health model that utilizes innovative, safe and high-quality care, while also caring for the health of the whole child beyond medicine. Nemours Children's also powers the world’s most-visited website for information on the health of children and teens, Nemours KidsHealth.org.
The Nemours Foundation, established through the legacy and philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont, provides pediatric clinical care, research, education, advocacy, and prevention programs to the children, families and communities it serves. For more information, visit Nemours.org.
About Cellergy Pharma Inc.
Cellergy Pharma is a privately held biotechnology company that is developing novel CAR T cell products for treating severe atopic allergic diseases. The company is at the forefront of moving CAR T cells beyond the treatment of cancer, to the treatment of diseases caused by the immune system. Cellergy’s patented EMPD and FcεRI chimeric antigen receptors target the cells that produce immunoglobulin E, the cause of all atopic allergic diseases.
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