Tokyo, Japan, February 20, 2023 — Teijin Limited and Axcelead, Inc. jointly announced today their basic agreement on a capital and business alliance to establish a joint venture company that will primarily utilize the drug discovery research capabilities of Teijin Pharma Limited, the Teijin Group’s core healthcare company. Teijin and Axcelead will now determine the name, ownership ratio and other details of the new company, aiming to conclude a final agreement within the fiscal year ending in March 2024 and then establish the company promptly thereafter.

The new company will utilize Teijin’s drug discovery research technologies, facilities, equipment and personnel. Axcelead aims to create synergies based on its proven expertise in drug-discovery support. The new company will investigate and acquire candidate compounds for new drugs as well as support drug discovery research. It is expected to grow its drug discovery support services worldwide by leveraging the combined strengths of Teijin and Axcelead in drug-discovery know-how, knowledge, technology and assets.

Through their alliance, Teijin and Teijin Pharma look forward to innovating and strengthening drug discovery research for the early launch of drugs with high medical needs. Teijin Pharma and Teijin are committed to addressing issues of patients, families and communities in need of more support. Axcelead provides non-clinical drug discovery research services that meet the needs of bio-ventures and other pharmaceutical companies worldwide, thereby helping to strengthen and expand the global drug discovery business.

This basic agreement, which accords with Axcelead’s concept of co-creating drug discovery platforms, responds to the global trend of horizontal specialization in non-clinical research and new forms of outsourced research.

Teijin Pharma carries out drug discovery research at the Teijin Institute for Bio-medical Research in Tokyo. In today’s increasingly challenging environment for drug discovery research, the institute is accelerating innovation in drug discovery by leveraging its proprietary technologies and resources through collaborations and partnerships with universities and other companies in Japan and overseas.

Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners Inc. (Axcelead DDP) commenced operations in July 2017 succeeding Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited‘s drug discovery platform business. Axcelead DDP, which possesses nearly all required capabilities for drug discovery, provides one-stop non-clinical drug discovery research services ranging from drug-target discovery to optimization of drug candidate compounds as well as processes for bridging to clinical development.

About the Teijin Group

Teijin (TSE: 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the fields of environmental value; safety, security and disaster mitigation; and demographic change and increased health consciousness. Originally established as Japan’s first rayon manufacturer in 1918, Teijin has evolved into a unique enterprise encompassing three core business domains: high-performance materials including aramid, carbon fibers and composites, and also resin and plastic processing, films, polyester fibers and products converting; healthcare including pharmaceuticals and home healthcare equipment for bone/joint, respiratory and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, nursing care and pre-symptomatic healthcare; and IT including B2B solutions for medical, corporate and public systems as well as packaged software and B2C online services for digital entertainment. Deeply committed to its stakeholders, as expressed in the brand statement “Human Chemistry, Human Solutions,” Teijin aims to be a company that supports the society of the future. The group comprises some 170 companies and employs some 20,000 people across 20 countries worldwide. Teijin posted consolidated sales of JPY 926.1 billion (USD 7.2 billion) and total assets of JPY 1,207.6 billion (USD 9.4 billion) in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2022.

Please visit www.teijin.com

About Axcelead

Axcelead, Inc. (“Axcelead”) represents a holding company which owns a group of companies which are developing a world-class healthcare platform for drug discovery.  Axcelead DDP, Japan’s first integrated drug discovery solution provider, functions as the core company of the Axcelead group that took over Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited’s drug discovery platform business in 2017. ARCALIS has become Japan’s only one-stop contract drug development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for mRNA therapeutics.

Axcelead also owns A-Digital which was established through the partial transfer of business from Hitachi High-Tech Corporation in order to develop a drug discovery digital platform to increase drug discovery efficacy by 100 times by promoting the digitalization of all drug discovery processes, and the American company, PassPort Technologies, Inc. in San Diego, California (“PassPort”). PassPort is a company that develops combination products of active pharmaceutical ingredients and medical devices based on next-generation transdermal drug delivery technology. Axcelead will promote the drug discovery ecosystem in Japan and will make various contributions to healthcare broadly and globally.

For more information on Axcelead, please visit the company’s website at https://www.axcelead-hd.com

Press Contact

Investor and Public Relations Department
Teijin Limited
+81 (0)3 3506 4055
pr@teijin.co.jp

Corporate Communications Department
Axcelead, Inc.
contact@axcelead-hd.com

Press Release in English PDF