Innovation Kyoto 2021 Investment Limited Partnership" ("KYOTO-iCAP FundⅡ"), managed by Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co.,Ltd. ("Kyoto iCAP") (Headquarters: Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Ko Kusumi) as its general partner, has made a new investment of approximately 120 million yen in TOKIWA-Bio Inc. ("TOKIWA-Bio") (Headquarters: Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture; Representative Director: Masato Nakanishi) through a third-party allocation of new shares.

Overview of the investment
Tokiwa Bio is a start-up company that has developed stealth RNA vector (SRV) technology, which is not integrated into chromosomes and can stably express multiple genes over a long period of time, and is expected to be applied in the regenerative medicine field, including iPS cell production and cell reprogramming.

Human iPS cells, which were discovered by Professor Shinya Yamanaka and his colleagues at the Kyoto University iPS Cell Institute in 2007, have attracted great expectations as a next-generation regenerative medical technology. However, until now, iPS cells have faced various challenges, such as low efficiency of iPS cell production, variation in cell quality, and the risk of cancer due to genomic insertion of transgenes.

The SRV developed by Tokiwa Bio incorporates multiple gene groups necessary for iPS cell production into a single vector, overcoming conventional issues and enabling extremely efficient and safe iPS cell production. Furthermore, through joint research with the Kyoto University iPS Cell Research Foundation and the Kyoto University iPS Cell Research Institute, we have succeeded in developing next-generation SRV iPSC technology with a view to applying it to the "my iPS project" (a project aimed at generalizing regenerative medicine using iPS cells derived from individual patients) and "next-generation iPS cell development. The development of the next-generation SRV iPSC technology has been successfully completed. These achievements have been recognized as a major step toward the practical application of iPS cell research originating in Japan.

With this financing, Tokiwa Bio will establish a GMP-compliant manufacturing system for SRV iPSCs and build partnerships for international expansion.

The total amount of this third-party allocation of shares is approximately JPY 390m. In addition to Kyoto iCAP, participating investors including Tohoku University Venture Partners Co., Ltd., Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Joyo Capital Partners Co., Ltd. Together, they will support the global deployment of Japan’s pioneering regenerative medicine technologies.

Company Profile : Tokiwa Bio Co.
Established : December 22, 2014
Business : Research, development and sales of stealth RNA vectors
Head Office: 2-1-6 Sengen, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Representative Director: Masato Nakanishi
HP : https://tokiwa-bio.com/

About Kyoto University Innovation Capital , Co. Ltd. (Kyoto iCAP):
As a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyoto University, KYOTO-iCAP provides investment and other business support to companies that utilize research results generated by Kyoto University and other national universities. KYOTO-iCAP currently operates the Innovation Kyoto 2016 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO -iCAP Fund Ⅰ") (established in January 2016) with a total value of 16 billion yen and the KYOTO-iCAP Fund Ⅱ (established in January 2021) with a total value of 18.1 billion yen. The KYOTO-iCAP Fund Ⅰ has a maturity of up to 20 years, and the KYOTO-iCAP Fund Ⅱ has a maturity of up to 17 years, enabling long-term support for the practical application of research results from Kyoto University, which is strong in basic research. In addition, a portion of the KYOTO-iCAP Fund Ⅱ will be invested in ventures originating from national universities in Japan other than Kyoto University.

Contact information for inquiries
Kyoto University Innovation Capital, Co. Ltd.
36-1 Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8317, Japan
Osami Kono, Senior Officer, Business Development Department
TEL: 075-753-7588 FAX: 075-753-7592
E-mail: info@kyoto-unicap.co.jp