Transplantable cells, tissues & organs for patients
>> xenotransplantation

Addressing the Organ Shortage Crisis

Recombinetics’ regenerative medicine division, Makana Therapeutics, offers game-changing innovations in xenotransplantation. Makana’s mission is to transform the lives of patients with organ failure by providing an abundant source of donor organs from genetically engineered pigs that lack “xenoantigens”—molecules that would trigger a rejection response from the human immune system. Makana’s focus on simplified genetics, optimized pig cloning techniques and careful patient selection will streamline product development and result in a product that is safer and more effective than “allotransplantation”—human-to-human organ donor transplantation.

FACING THE FACTS

On average, only 95 transplants take place each day in the U.S.

Every ten minutes, someone is added to the U.S transplant waiting list

750,000 suffer with end-stage renal disease (ESRD)

Without a kidney transplant, the 5-year survival rate for ESRD is 35%

focusing our work

To combat those realities, Makana Therapeutics is focused on…

Creating an abundant supply of donor organs from xenoantigen-free swine

Improving graft survival through proprietary histocompatibility/cross-match assays

Applying immunosuppression regimen to xenotransplant recipients to mirror outcomes of allotransplantation

our competitive advantage

Innovative Insights + Deep Expertise = Extraordinary Results

65 combined years of technical expertise in large animal models of disease

150 combined years of technical expertise in genome engineering

Makana’s founder is an accomplished transplant surgeon whose insights from allotransplantation provided the roadmap for our lead program, the triple xenoantigen knockout kidney (TKO kidney).

Simplified set of genome alterations designed to reduce antibody-mediated rejection that will also improve product safety.
TKO organ will be coupled with proprietary crossmatch assays to identify patients without pre-existing xenoantigens.
Focused xenoantigen deletion plus crossmatching has demonstrated the longest life-supporting xenokidney grafts in the pig to non-human primate model.

Makana has deep expertise in pig engineering, including carefully optimized cloning protocols and techniques. And we hold the exclusive license to TKO pig intellectual property—the preferred genotype in the xeno- field.

By combining our work with Recombinetics, our path to the clinic has become incredibly clear. The time for xenotransplantation is now.

Dr. Joe Tector, Founder, Makana

Makana Target One

Addressing the Greatest Need

The vast majority of those on the organ wait list are waiting for a kidney. With so great a need, this is Makana’s first organ target.

With our proprietary combination of genetics, crossmatch assay and known anti-rejection regimen, we are driving toward our goal of first human transplant by 2022.