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: Ko Kusumi) as unlimited liability partner, has made an investment in enU Pharma, Inc. (Head Office: Sapporo; CEO: Tadayoshi Yasui)

Overview of this investment
Kyoto-iCAP has executed a seed round investment of 200 million yen in enU Pharma, a startup founded on the innovative technologies developed by Professor Shinichiro Nishimura of the Graduate School of Advanced Biosciences and Biotechnology at Hokkaido University.

enU Pharma is dedicated to researching and developing based on dynamic epitope theory and creative glycotechnology. The company possesses a unique platform technology to detect abnormal glycans in a pathological condition-dependent manner and create precision glycopeptide recognition antibodies that recognize them. This platform is a breakthrough technology that has the potential to address the challenge of diminishing drug targets for pharmaceutical antibodies.

The company has already acquired pharmaceutical antibodies that recognize multiple abnormal sugar chains, which are expected to be applied to liver and pancreatic cancer, as well as autoimmune diseases. Notably, the company's lead pipeline, a liver cancer stage-specific antibody, has been confirmed to show a tissue distribution different from that of existing antibodies. The treatment utilizing this abnormal sugar chain recognition antibody is distinct from conventional pharmaceutical antibodies and is expected to be a highly safe treatment with fewer side effects because it does not bind to normal cells.

Kyoto-iCAP acknowledges the potential of enU Pharma's glycan analysis and antibody production technologies, which recognize abnormal glycopeptides, to address significant challenges in pharmaceutical antibody development. These technologies aim to provide patients suffering from cancer and autoimmune diseases with safer treatments that have fewer side effects, thereby reducing patient burden and enhancing their quality of life (QOL).

Outline of Enyu Pharma Co.
Establishment : December 2019
Business : Research and Development of Glycopeptide-Specific Therapeutic Antibodies
Head office: Sapporo, Hokkaido
Representative Director: Tadayoshi Yasui
HP: https://enupharma.com/

About Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.
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