UTokyo Innovation Platform Company (UTokyo IPC) Invested 800 million JPY (6.2 million USD*) in Chordia Therapeutics

Kanagawa, Japan, May 19, 2022 – Chordia Therapeutics Inc. (“Chordia”), a biotech company engaged in the research and development of novel therapies for cancers, today announced that it has raised a total of approximately 4 billion JPY through a third-party allotment of new shares in the Series C round, with Japan Growth Capital Investment Corporation and UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. as lead investors, underwritten by MEDIPAL Innovation Fund, Shinsei Capital Partners, Ltd., Nippon Venture Capital Co., Ltd., and others.

 

Chordia will use the funds to advance clinical trials in Japan and abroad of CTX-712, a selective pan-CDC-like kinase (“CLK”) inhibitor currently in Phase I, and accelerate other pre-clinical programs of its other drug candidates.

 

Hiroshi Miyake, Ph.D., representative director of Chordia, said, “I am delighted that this capital increase will enable us to accelerate the development of our clinical and pre-clinical assets in our pipeline. CTX-712 targets the vulnerability resulting from RNA deregulation, which has been identified as a novel hallmark of cancer, and is expected to be an effective therapeutic agent because it has a new mechanism of action that is completely different from conventional anticancer drugs. We are committed to making daily efforts to deliver epoch-making medicines to patients living with cancer as soon as possible.”

 

In connection with the financing, Ichitaro Akita, Chief Investment Officer of Nomura SPARX Investment, Inc., which is the asset management company of Japan Growth Capital Investment Corporation, and Makoto (Mark) Ohori, Ph.D., Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Life Science at UTokyo IPC have joined Chordia’s board of directors.

 

Ichitaro Akita said, “There is not radical treatment for many cancers, and it is thought that unmet medical needs for the anticancer drugs are high. Through the efficient allocation of capital by Chordia, NSPI looks forward to Chordia’s growth in the development of drugs for the treatment of cancers with unmet medical needs.”

 

“RNA deregulation as a novel hallmark of cancer is an exciting area where we make drug discovery efforts,” said Dr. Mark Ohori. “We are proud to support the company as it works to fulfill the promise of CTX-712 for treatment of malignant cancers and develops further pipelines that leverage its expertise in the RNA deregulation field.”

 

About Chordia Therapeutics

Chordia was established in November 2017 at Shonan Health Innovation Park (“Shonan iPark”) in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, as a biotech company engaged in the research and development of novel therapies for cancers, with the goal of researching and developing first-in-class anti-cancer drugs and creating innovative new drugs.

In addition to its leading program for CTX-712, Chordia is engaged in the research of several developments in our pipeline, including CTX-439, a CDK12 inhibitor, which is expected to be effective in cancers with specific abnormalities, as well as GCN2 inhibitors.

 

Established:           November 2017

Address:                 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2 chome, Fujisawa,

Kanagawa 251-0012, Japan

Representative:　Hiroshi Miyake, Representative Director

Website:　　　　https://www.chordiatherapeutics.com/en/

 

About UTokyo IPC

The University of Tokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (UTokyo IPC, President & CEO Kazuhiko Oizumi) is an investment company founded by the University of Tokyo 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

 

 

*TTM on May 19th