News

Today it was announced that the UK life science company Horizon Discovery Group plc acquired Haplogen Genomics GmbH, a wholly subsidiary of Haplogen GmbH, the first CeMM spinout company. Haplogen’s scientific roots lie in the haploid genetics technology developed by CeMM Adjunct Principal investigator Thijn Brummelkamp while he was a fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research of the M.I.T. This technology greatly enhances the ability to genetically inactivate and modify genes in human cells. Together with CeMM Principal Investigators Sebastian Nijman and Giulio Superti-Furga the company was founded to generate a collection of human mutant cell lines to bolster functional genomics research at CeMM but also in the wider academic community. Those tools allow direct functional testing of a wide range of biological and medical processes in human cell lines and can often replace or reduce animal experimentation by relevant biological experiments. Georg Casari, once Head of Technology Transfer at CeMM has headed the company since its foundation in 2010. A first collection was published in Nature Methods in 2013 and other paper illustrating the power of CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering in haploid cells appeared last month in Genome Research. The haploid cell genetics is used at CeMM also to understand resistance to cancer drugs (see Winter et al. Nature Chem Biol 2014).

The deal includes a € 7.6 M upfront payment, part in cash and part in Horizon equity, plus a potential performance-related payment of up to € 5 M in future years. The money will first be used to pay off creditors such as the AWS, the Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH, a bank for the promotion and financing of companies. CeMM, that owned 5% of the company, will continue to have access to the haploid genetics technology and will receive royalties on cell lines established during the public–private partnership that laid the foundation for the company. With the sale of the genomics branch of the company, Haplogen will focus its future efforts on its drug discovery and development activities. 

CeMM’s Scientific Director Giulio Superti-Furga comments: “I am tremendously proud that an initiative generated at CeMM is not only a scientific, but also a business success. Our vision of synergies between public and private for the efficient generation of human mutant cells has panned out well and fast. The toolbox is propelling CeMM’s research.” 

References:

Essletzbichler P, Konopka T, Santoro F, Chen D, Gapp BV, Kralovics R, Brummelkamp TR, Nijman SM, Bürckstümmer T. Megabase-scale deletion using CRISPR/Cas9 to generate a fully haploid human cell line. Genome Res. 2014 Dec;24(12):2059-65. 

Bürckstümmer T, Banning C, Hainzl P, Schobesberger R, Kerzendorfer C, Pauler FM, Chen D, Them N, Schischlik F, Rebsamen M, Smida M, Fece de la Cruz F, Lapao A, Liszt M, Eizinger B, Guenzl PM, Blomen VA, Konopka T, Gapp B, Parapatics K, Maier B, Stöckl J, Fischl W, Salic S, Taba Casari MR, Knapp S, Bennett KL, Bock C, Colinge J, Kralovics R, Ammerer G, Casari G, Brummelkamp TR, Superti-Furga G, Nijman SM. A reversible gene trap collection empowers haploid genetics in human cells. Nat Methods. 2013 Oct;10(10):965-71.

Winter GE, Radic B, Mayor-Ruiz C, Blomen VA, Trefzer C, Kandasamy RK, Huber KV, Gridling M, Chen D, Klampfl T, Kralovics R, Kubicek S, Fernandez-Capetillo O, Brummelkamp TR, Superti-Furga G. The solute carrier SLC35F2 enables YM155-mediated DNA damage toxicity. Nat Chem Biol. 2014 Sep;10(9):768-73.