Orizuru Therapeutics, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its Series B funding round, securing a total of approximately JPY 3.3 billion through the third-party allocation of shares. Including the funds obtained through previous third-party allocations in the past Series and successful adoption of AMED (Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development) programs, the total cash amassed since the company’s establishment has now exceeded JPY 10 billion.
This funding infusion will play a crucial role in accelerating our cell therapy business, specifically the iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes program (iCM program), and pancreatic islet cells program (iPIC program). It will primarily support the progression into the clinical development and scaling up manufacturing. Additionally, the Company will continue to promote drug discovery research support using iPS cell-related technologies and further enhance the infrastructure for regenerative medicine research, which can advance the societal implementation of iPS cell technologies.

Third-party allottees participated in its Series B are; Japan Growth Capital Investment Corporation (Tokyo, Japan), Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd. (Kyoto, Japan), Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Osaka, Japan), MUFG Bank, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), and JDRF T1D Fund, LLC (Boston, US).

Comment from CEO Kenji Nonaka

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the investors who have embraced the company’s vision and supported our mission and purpose of developing new regenerative medicine products using iPS cell technology, for the benefit of patient and society. I understand that this funding is a result of our initial 3 years of performance and results, but also strongly feel that their expectation for iPS cell technology to contribute to the well-being of patients and society remain high, as they have been since our establishment. We recognize this once again and are committed to advancing research and development to deliver new and groundbreaking regenerative medicine products to patients in the future.”

About Orizuru Therapeutics, Inc.

https://orizuru-therapeutics.com/en/
Orizuru Therapeutics, Inc., established in April 2021, is committed to bringing hope for better health to the world through the infinite power of science. The company aims to deliver cell therapies to patients by developing and implementing regenerative medicine products and innovative iPS cell-related technologies.

Scope of Business	1. Development of regenerative medical products through cell transplantation
	2. Support for drug discovery research and establishment of regenerative medicine research foundations by utilizing iPS cell technologies.
Company Name	Orizuru Therapeutics, Inc.
Founded	April 9, 2021
Registered address	36-1 Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8317, Japan
Laboratory address	Shonan Health Innovation Park, 2-26-1 Muraoka-higashi, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 251-8555, Japan
Representative Director	Kenji Nonaka

About Our Key Assets

OZTx-410 is an iPS cell-derived pancreatic islet cell manufactured products using our proprietary method with small molecular compounds. Comprising safe and high-purity pancreatic endocrine cell aggregates, OZTx-410 is expected to exhibit physiological insulin secretion in response to glucose loading and hypoglycemia. Utilizing our original transplantation method, we plan to initiate clinical trials with the goal of long-term normalization of blood glucose levels and improved quality of life for patients suffering from severe type 1 diabetes.

OZTx-556 is an iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte manufactured products using our proprietary method with small molecular compounds. With high engraftment capabilities to the heart and high purity, OZTx-556 is expected to replenish lost cardiomyocytes and promote remuscularization. We plan to commence clinical trials targeting improvement in heart function, physical function, and life prognosis for severe heart failure patients who have been difficult to treat.

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[Contact information]
Orizuru Therapeutics, Inc. Public Relations
https://orizuru-therapeutics.com/en/contact/