SmartCella Expands Extroducer® Licensing Portfolio with Heqet and Oloker Partnerships for Cardiac Regeneration and Refractory Angina
Key Insights
SmartCella has entered into licensing agreements with Heqet Therapeutics (search) and Oloker for use of its Extroducer® (search) endovascular delivery platform in cardiovascular indications.
Heqet will use the Extroducer® (search) to deliver RNA compounds targeting cardiac regeneration following myocardial infarction (search), a condition affecting over 64 million patients worldwide.
Oloker gains rights to administer human stromal-derived cardiac progenitor cells (hCmPC (search)) via the Extroducer® (search) for refractory angina (search), a challenging cardiovascular condition with serious unmet treatment need.
SmartCella Holding AB (search) has announced two separate licensing agreements for its Extroducer® (search) endovascular delivery platform, partnering with Heqet Therapeutics (search) and Oloker Therapeutics (search) to advance novel therapies for cardiovascular diseases. The deals underscore SmartCella's strategic pivot toward becoming a pure-play targeted drug delivery company and highlight growing industry interest in localized, catheter-based administration of advanced therapeutics.
The Extroducer® (search), developed at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, is a modality-agnostic endovascular delivery platform that has received FDA 510(k) clearance for use in peripheral tissues, including abdominal applications. The device enables minimally invasive, catheter-based delivery using arteries and veins as natural access routes for localized injection of therapeutic agents directly into target tissues. It is currently under clinical investigation for additional indications.
Heqet Therapeutics (search): RNA-based cardiac regeneration after myocardial infarction (search)
Under the agreement with Heqet Therapeutics (search), the Turin-based biotech gains rights to use the Extroducer® (search) platform to deliver certain RNA compounds for cardiac regeneration following myocardial infarction (search), spanning from development through to commercialization of multiple product candidates.
Myocardial infarction (search) causes irreversible loss of heart muscle cells, which in adult humans cannot regenerate. The resulting non-contractile scar tissue leads to permanent impairment of cardiac function and, in many cases, chronic heart failure (search). This condition affects over 64 million patients worldwide, and despite advances in pharmacological and interventional treatments, no curative therapy currently exists.
"Despite decades of innovation, no therapeutic approach has succeeded in regenerating functional myocardium in situ. The irreversible loss of cardiomyocytes following myocardial infarction (search) remains one of the most pressing challenges in cardiovascular medicine, and delivery continues to be a critical barrier to progress," said Bo Rode Hansen, Executive Chair of Heqet Therapeutics (search). "This agreement marks an important step forward, towards fulfilling Heqet's vision: to redefine the standard of care for myocardial infarction-induced cardiac regeneration."
Heqet Therapeutics (search) is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, non-coding RNA-based therapies for cardiovascular disease. The company is a spin-out of King's College London, stemming from the pioneering research of Prof. Mauro Giacca on cardiomyocyte regeneration. Founded in 2021, Heqet is backed by Claris Ventures SGR S.p.A, i2i Capital Limited, and 2Invest AG.
Niklas Prager, CEO of SmartCella, commented: "Myocardial infarction (search) remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and with the Heqet program moving into clinical stage development, the combination of their innovative RNA compound and the Extroducer® (search) delivery platform has the potential to unlock a truly differentiated approach to cardiac regeneration."
Oloker Therapeutics (search): Cell therapy for refractory angina (search)
In a separate agreement, Oloker Therapeutics (search) has secured non-exclusive rights to use the Extroducer® (search) platform to administer human stromal-derived cardiac progenitor cells (hCmPC (search)) for the treatment of refractory angina (search), covering clinical development through to commercialization.
Refractory angina (search) represents one of the most challenging cardiovascular conditions, characterized by persistent symptoms despite optimal medical therapy and revascularization. Prof. Alessandro Sannino, Scientific Coordinator at Oloker, stated: "Refractory angina is one of the most challenging cardiovascular conditions and represents a serious unmet treatment need. We have been searching for a delivery approach that is both precise and minimally invasive, and the Extroducer® (search) platform will enable us to administer hCmPC (search) directly to target tissue via the vasculature, without open surgery."
Oloker Therapeutics (search), with its registered office in Bari and operational headquarters in Milan, Italy, is focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of cell therapies for cardiovascular disease.
Strategic shift at SmartCella
The partnerships reflect SmartCella's sharpened focus on the Extroducer® (search) technology platform. Following extensive market engagement in 2025 and consistently strong feedback from potential partners globally, the company has identified the Extroducer® as its clearest path to revenue growth and long-term value creation across multiple disease areas.
As part of this strategic shift, SmartCella is divesting its cell therapy programs and the GMP facility in Tullinge to streamline its business model and reach cash flow breakeven faster. The company also remains committed to finding partners for its proprietary platform for mRNA delivery, including the proof-of-concept program for osteoarthritis.
"The Oloker agreement reflects the strength of the strategic direction we have embarked on. We are building a growing licensing portfolio of non-exclusive partnerships with global biotech and pharmaceutical companies, where the full value is realized when our partners successfully bring their therapies to market," said Prager. "Oloker is an important addition to that portfolio, and a signal of the momentum we are building."
Both agreements follow SmartCella's business model, structured to generate revenue across multiple streams throughout the lifecycle of each partnership, on similar general terms as previously communicated agreements.