Innovation Kyoto 2021 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO-iCAP No.2 Fund"), with Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation ("Kyoto iCAP") (Head office: Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Kimi Kusumi) as the general partner, has made an investment in BTB Drug Discovery Research Center Inc. (Head office: Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Kou Ohkiku), a venture company that utilizes the results of research at Kyoto University.

Outline of this investment
BTB is a drug discovery venture established by Professor Masatoshi Hagiwara of the Department of Morphogenesis, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, and is developing ENDOPIN, a novel non-opioid pain suppressant, and RECTAS, a next-generation cancer immunotherapy.

ENDOPIN is an oral non-opioid pain medication with a novel mechanism of action by inhibiting adrenergic receptor alpha 2B. In non-clinical studies, ENDOPIN was found to have a strong pain-suppressing effect comparable to that of synthetic opioids, while not causing side effects such as gastrointestinal disturbances or dependence. The drug is now under clinical development. This drug is expected not only to provide a new alternative to synthetic opioids for many people suffering from pain, but also to solve the urgent social issue of the rapid increase in deaths due to overdose of opioid pain medications, especially in the United States.

RECTAS is a next-generation cancer immunotherapy drug based on splice neoantigen induction. RECTAS is expected to enhance the effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors because it induces cancer immunity by cytotoxic CD8 positive cells using splice neoantigen produced by RNA splice pattern modulation as a marker. In addition, the splicing control mechanism of this drug can be applied to rare congenital diseases caused by splicing abnormalities, such as cardiac Fabry disease, congenital QT prolongation syndrome type 1, and familial dysautonomia, etc., and the AMED's FY2021 "Drug Discovery Support Promotion Program - Pre-designation Support Program for Orphan Drugs The project has also been adopted by the AMED for its FY2021 "Drug Discovery Support Promotion Project - Pre-designation Commercialization Support Project for Orphan Drugs".

BTB's mission is to become a social infrastructure to deliver new drugs to people suffering from diseases and other ailments by conducting research and development efficiently and at a high speed based on the results of cutting-edge basic research in academia.

The company's R&D project was funded by the Kyoto University GAP Fund Program and Incubation Program, and was founded with support from Kyoto iCAP.

Kyoto iCAP has evaluated the high potential of BTB's two pipelines and has concluded an investment agreement with BTB to underwrite a third-party allocation of new shares, with a total investment of 100 million yen. In addition to the investment, an outside director was dispatched to the company to provide general management support.

BTB CorporationDrug Discovery Research Center
Establishment June 2020
Business Description Development of novel pain medications and next-generation cancer immunotherapy drugs
Head office location Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
Representative Director: Tsuyoshi Ohgiku
HP:https://btb-newdrug.co.jp/

Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.(Kyoto-iCAP)About
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. We currently operate the Innovation Kyoto 2016 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO-iCAP 1 Fund") (established in January 2016) with a total value of 16 billion yen and the KYOTO-iCAP 2 Fund (established in January 2021) with a total value of 18.1 billion yen. The KYOTO-iCAP No. 1 Fund has a maturity of up to 20 years, and the KYOTO-iCAP No. 2 Fund has a maturity of up to 17 years, making it possible to provide long-term support for the practical application of research results from Kyoto University, which has strengths in basic research. In addition, KYOTO-iCAP No. 2 Fund will invest a portion of the funds in ventures originating from national universities 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