An accomplished entrepreneur and academic expert, Jean-Jacques Degroof grew up in Belgium, where he earned two degrees from the Catholic University of Louvain, in addition to his degrees from MIT. He currently teaches and mentors entrepreneurs at several business schools in Europe. In addition, Jean-Jacques Degroof has also been featured in numerous MIT news articles for his innovative research and contributions to the technology industry.
An associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a former postdoc student from the institution founded Kytopen in 2017 with the goal of rolling out innovative technologies that foster and streamline the introduction of genetic materials to different types of cells for novel therapies. Kytopen has developed Flowfect, its proprietary technology that leverages the power of traditional electroporation in the genetic manipulation of cells while preventing the adverse implication of the technique on human immune cells.
Electroporation involves subjecting animal cells to artificial electric fields, which temporarily disrupt the surface of the cells and create transient pores on the surface. In biotechnological research, external genetic materials such as mRNA and DNA can pass through the pores to the inside of cells, where the genetic materials interact with cellular components to execute specific functions. Traditional electroporation typically subjects cells to strong electric fields that can damage them.
Kyptopen's Flowfect has stepped in to solve this problem and enable the application of electroporation for the genetic enhancement of human immune cells to treat various types of diseases, including cancer. Rather than relying on strong electric fields to introduce genetic materials to cells, Flowfect combines electroporation with the mechanical force of fast-moving liquids. This reduces the amount of electricity required to transiently open up cells, thus preventing adverse effects.
Besides maintaining the physical and functional integrity of cells, Flowfect also enables faster cell processing. The technology processes 1 billion cells per minute and promotes the automation of gene delivery to immune cells for therapeutic purposes. Using this technology, doctors can harvest immune cells from patients, introduce genes that can remedy patients' diseases into those cells, and inject the therapeutic cells into patients. The technology is poised to pilot safe immunotherapies.
