Mitsubishi UFJ Capital And AGC Sign A Mandate Agreement For The Technical Evaluation Of Drug Manufacturing For Investment Activities In Drug Discovery Start-ups

Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd.（Mitsubishi UFJ Capital; President: Takuro Kojima, Headquarters: Tokyo）and AGC Inc. (AGC; President: Yoshinori Hirai, Headquarters: Tokyo）have signed a mandate agreement for the technical evaluation of drug manufacturing, as part of Mitsubishi UFJ Capital's investment activities in drug discovery startups, etc.

In recent years, drug development has become increasingly complex and challenging due to the diversification of modalities. In order to realize innovations that will drive the next generation of new drug development, it is necessary to build a "Drug Discovery Ecosystem". This requires a comprehensive and holistic approach not only by pharmaceutical companies, academia, and start-ups, which are the main players in drug development, but also by industry, government and academia.

AGC has developed a cGMP-compliant CDMO^*1 business in its life science business in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, covering a wide range of modalities^*2 including small molecule pharmaceutical, mammalian and microbial-based therapeutic proteins, messenger RNA, plasmid DNA, gene and cell therapy and exosomes. Under the terms of this agreement, AGC will use its extensive knowledge and experience in the CDMO business, to analyze and advise on issues that may arise during the process development and manufacturing phases from a chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) perspective for drugs developed by drug discovery startups.

Mitsubishi UFJ Capital manages funds specializing in life sciences and is a leading dealmaker backed with one of the largest amounts of capital in Japan. Mitsubishi UFJ Capital has accumulated support for drug discovery start-ups based on its expertise gained through extensive experience working with pharmaceutical companies and academia. As the modalities of drugs developed by drug discovery start-ups and others diversify today, there is a need not only to reduce manufacturing risks, but also to improve the efficiency and speed of R&D and increase the probability of success. Under this agreement, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital will support drug discovery start-ups by evaluating the feasibility and implementation status of their manufacturing plans.

Through this alliance, the two companies aim to contribute to the creation of a "Drug Discovery Ecosystem" and enhance Japan's drug discovery capabilities.

About Mitsubishi UFJ Capital
Since its establishment in 1974, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, as the venture capital arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has provided industry-leading expertise and invested in a wide range of industries. In the life sciences fields, it has continuously established funds totaling 50 billion yen since its first fund in February 2017, including the Mitsubishi UFJ Life Science No. 4 Fund (20 billion yen). It is one of the largest private sector fund in total dedicated to life sciences in Japan, and invests in startups in drug discovery, regenerative medicines, medical devices, and other fields. In addition to investing in biotech startups, the fund also focuses on academic drug discovery, carve-out deals for pharmaceutical companies, investments in development projects for pharmaceutical companies, and medical device-related investments.

About AGC Group's Life Science Business
The AGC Group's Life Science Business is developing its CDMO business globally, engaging in contracted process development and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. We focus on small molecule pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, leveraging AGC's long-accumulated organic synthesis technologies, as well as biopharmaceuticals, for which demand is growing worldwide, and gene and cell therapeutics, a cutting-edge field. With business sites in Japan, Europe, and the U.S., we contribute to the safe, secure, comfortable and healthy lives of people around the world by providing high-quality services that meet the diverse needs of customers in each market.

^*1 CDMO: Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization. A company which is contracted on behalf of another company to serve product manufacturing as well as the development of manufacturing processes.

^*2 Modality: A term used to describe a classification of methods and means of basic technology for drug discovery. e.g., antibody drugs, mRNA drugs.