Print(PDF/53KB) Mar. 06, 2014 Corporate

Healios and Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma establish a joint venture company for regenerative medicine and cell therapy business

Healios K.K. (“Healios”) (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; President: Hardy T S Kagimoto, MD) and Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (“DSP”) (Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President: Masayo Tada) announce today that the two companies have established a joint venture company as detailed below, following the terms of the joint venture agreement the two companies signed on December 2, 2013. On the same date, they also signed the joint development agreement on the terms of the joint development in Japan of iPS cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial (“RPE”) cells for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases. The joint venture company will be engaged in the manufacture and sales promotion of the iPS cell-derived RPE cell products commercialized in the future through the joint development.

Additional information on the joint development agreement and the joint venture agreement can be found in the media release made jointly by the two companies dated December 2, 2013. In addition, the scope of the joint development agreement and outlines of Healios and DSP are shown in the next page as reference information.

Outline of the Joint Venture Company:

  • (1) Name: SighRegen K.K. (“SighRegen”)
    * SighRegen is a term coined from “(eye)sight” and “regeneration.”
  • (2) Location: 5-2 Minatojima Minamimachi 5-chome, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo
    (housed in the Kobe International Business Center)
  • (3) Representative: Hardy T S Kagimoto, MD
  • (4) Business: Manufacture, sales promotion and other activities of the iPS cell-derived RPE cell products
    * SighRegen plans to own facilities for the manufacture of such products. After obtaining the manufacturing and marketing approval of such products, Healios will be responsible for the sales and marketing of the products and SighRegen will conduct manufacturing and sales promotion under a contract with Healios.
  • (5) Paid-in capital: 50 million yen
  • (6) Date of establishment: February 28, 2014
  • (7) Shareholding: Healios 50%, DSP 50%

<Reference information>

Scope of the joint development agreement

  • (1) Products: iPS cell-derived RPE cells products
  • (2) Indications: Eye diseases (wet AMD and others)
  • (3) Territory: Japan

Outline of Healios:

Healios is a RIKEN Venture approved as such by RIKEN, an independent administrative agency. Based on a patent license granted under RIKEN’s inventions born in Japan, Healios is engaged in the development of new treatment methods for age-related macular degeneration through implantation of RPE cells that are differentiation guided from iPS cells. Further, it seeks to make a successful development of such treatment methods as the stepping stone to develop technologies for photoreceptor cell implantation, retina regeneration pharmaceuticals and test methods so that current refractory retinal diseases will be made curable.

Outline of DSP:

DSP focuses its research and development on psychiatry & neurology and oncology areas, where high unmet medical needs exist in order to channel its energies into innovative drug discovery. By the same token, DSP seeks to apply leading-edge science such as iPS cells to drug discovery and strengthen activities in regenerative medicine and cell therapy to develop medicines for refractory diseases.

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