C4U and Celaid have executed a collaborative research agreement

• C4U Corporation (“C4U”) and Celaid Therapeutics Inc. (“Celaid”) have executed a collaborative research agreement.
• In this research, we will conduct in vitro and in vivo (animal) experiments to verify the functionality of gene-modified human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) when combining C4U’s CRISPR-Cas3 gene editing technology and Celaid’s HSC expansion technology. Through this research, we aim to advance the research and development of HSC gene therapy products for delivery to patients suffering from genetic diseases.

＜About C4U Corporation＞
C4U is a privately held biotech company based in Osaka, Japan, and is focused on the development of safe and efficient gene therapies utilizing its proprietary next generation CRISPR-Cas3 gene editing platform. In comparison to the CRISPR-Cas9 platform, CRISPR-Cas3presents the distinct benefits of: 1) higher selectivity by no off-target deletions (improved safety); 2) efficient knockouts of large, programmable gene sequences; and 3) an entirely independent patent portfolio. C4U has been granted a worldwide exclusive license to CRISPR-Cas3 by Osaka University for use in eukaryotic cells thus simplifying sublicensing transactions which is in sharp contrast to the complex and heavily litigated CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape.

＜About Celaid Therapeutics Inc.＞
Celaid Therapeutics is a Japan-based biotech startup developing cell therapy products utilizing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for blood cancers and immunological diseases. In the treatment of blood cancers, large numbers of HSCs are required for transplant in order to cure disease. Celaid Therapeutics aims to safely and efficiently expand these HSC numbers ex vivo for delivery to patients as next-generation cell therapy products.