Celaid Therapeutics (Celaid), a Japan-based biotech developing Hematopoietic Stem Cell (HSC) therapies, today announced that it has raised an additional 460 million yen in its Series A extension round. This round was led by The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC) and OSAKA University Venture Capital (OUVC) with participation from Techno Science and Joyo Capital Partners. This brings Celaid’s total raise to approximately 1.2 billion yen which includes existing Series A funding of 500 million yen and the recent 200 million yen from the NEDO Deep Tech Startup grant.
Celaid will apply the funding to advancing CMC process development in its lead pipeline asset for non-malignant hematologic disease in preparation for IND submission in the US. In parallel, Celaid will continue collaborations with partners exploring applications of its technology to HSC gene therapies and allogeneic immune cell therapies which include those utilizing iPSC-derived products.
“We were able to secure the necessary funds for future research and development in our Series A funding round thanks to new participating investors’ confidence in Celaid’s HSC-based platform and pipeline,” said Nobuyuki Arakawa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Celaid.
“We are committed to delivering our unique HSC products to patients around the world as soon as possible.”
About Celaid Therapeutics Inc.
Celaid Therapeutics Inc. is a startup born out of the University of Tokyo and University of Tsukuba with proprietary technology for selective ex vivo HSC expansion. By safely and efficiently expanding human HSCs, Celaid aims to provide the next generation of cell and gene therapy products in cell therapy for hematologic disease, ex vivo HSC gene therapy for genetic disorders, and angiogenesis for ischemic disease.
Contact Information
Celaid Therapeutics Inc.
Address: Utokyo Entrepreneur Lab., South Clinical Research Bldg., 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8485, Japan
TEL: +81-50-3612-7767 / E-mail: contact@celaidtx.com
URL: https://celaidtx.com/en/
Celaid's Business Strategies
1. Pipeline Business
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only way to cure hematological and immunological diseases. Current allogeneic HSCT faces many issues such as securing a sufficient number of HSCs, waiting time for HLA donor matching, and acute/chronic GvHD after HSCT.
Celaid’s allogeneic HSC products will meet these unmet medical needs by providing better HLA-matched HSCs, fewer side effects, and safer and improved efficacy over existing HSCT for blood and immunodeficiency diseases.
2. Platform Business
Celaid’s HSC platform can selectively expand undifferentiated HSCs in vitro from cord blood, peripheral blood, and other sources. The platform is anticipated to be applicable to multiple cell and gene therapeutic products such as ex vivo HSC gene therapies and iPSC-derived immune cells. Celaid has already launched collaborations with startups and pharmaceutical companies worldwide to produce these next generation therapies. Through our collaborations, we will explore opportunities for licensing out the platform which will be designed to meet the specific needs of each cell and gene therapy product.
