Cytel, Baxter Healthcare Corp. deal

CYTL and Baxter's Nextran unit will develop an alpha-galactose carbohydrate product for use in xenotransplantation. The goal of the collaboration is to minimize hyperacute rejection, an immunological barrier to transplantation of pig organs.

Prior to transplant, Nextran will filter the recipient's blood through a column that contains the carbohydrate to remove the rejection-causing antibodies. CYTL will use its enzymatic sugar nucleotide cycling technology to manufacture commerical quantities of the carbohydrate. ...