LiberoThera Closes 535 Million JPY Financing to Develop GPCR-targeting Therapeutics
PrintTokyo, Japan, May, 14, 2021 – LiberoThera Co., Ltd. (“LiberoThera” or the “Company”), a biotechnology company dedicated to the generation of new therapeutics targeting membrane proteins including non-producible G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), today announced the closing of a 535 million JPY new round, led by UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (“UTokyo IPC”, Tokyo, Japan) with participation from additional new investors, including MP HealthCare Venture Management (Boston, MA), Miyagin Venture Capital (Miyazaki, Japan). Beyond Next Ventures (Tokyo, Japan) also participated in the offering as an existing investor. This round brings LiberoThera’s total funding to 800 million JPY. In conjunction with the financing, Makoto (Mark) Ohori, Ph.D., Partner at UTokyo IPC, will join the LiberoThera Board as a Director.
Founded on revolutionary research by Prof. Shigeyuki Yokoyama, Emeritus Professor at The University of Tokyo and Distinguished Senior Scientist at RIKEN, and built by Beyond Next Ventures, LiberoThera utilizes its cutting-edge cell-free protein expression system and non-natural amino acid technology to resolve the undruggability of non-producible transmembrane proteins including some GPCR families and bring the breakthrough to treat a wide range of diseases including cancer, autoimmune, and other untreatable disorders.
“GPCRs are a successful family of therapeutic targets, but we also know that there still remain many attractive but unreachable targets due to their difficulties in expression and purification,” said Dr. Toru Kanke, CEO of LiberoThera. “Our ground-breaking platform technology allows us to resolve the undruggability and generate our distinctive therapeutic pipelines. LiberoThera opens up an exciting new frontier in GPCR drug discovery through the development of first-in-class and best-in-class therapeutics.”
Mark Ohori, Ph.D., Partner at UTokyo IPC, commented, “We are excited to lead this funding round and join the team as a board member. Under the leadership of LinberoThera’s enthusiastic management team, the company has developed a robust strategy for drug development with its enabling technologies. We believe that LiberoThera will continue to make the undruggable druggable and provide new therapeutics that address unmet medical needs for patients all over the world.”
About LiberoThera
LiberoThera is a drug discovery company targeting membrane proteins including GPCRs. The company was established in 2018 based on the novel membrane protein synthesis technologies invented at RIKEN which enable complexed membrane proteins to be prepared in natural forms with structural and functional integrity. LiberoThera is developing novel therapeutic candidates targeting physiologically important membrane proteins. For more information visit https://www.liberothera.com/
Media Contact
info@liberothera.com
About UTokyo IPC
The University of Tokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (UTokyo IPC, President & CEO Kazuhiko Oizumi) is a venture investment arm for the University of Tokyo founded in 2016. Through start-up formation and venture investment, UTokyo IPC nurtures entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems around the academic community and industries in Japan. For more information visit https://www.utokyo-ipc.co.jp/en/
Media Contact
Makoto (Mark) Ohori, Ph.D.
Partner
+81-3-3830-2000