Kyoto strikes Chordia in series A round

Kyoto University Innovation Capital, the investment arm of Kyoto University, has invested in a series A round of undisclosed size for Japan-based oncology drug developer Chordia Therapeutics, Fierce Biotech reported yesterday.

Pharmaceutical firm Takeda, which has licensed several drug programs to Chordia, also invested, as did Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and SMBC Venture Capital, the venture capital arms of banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

Kyoto University Innovation Capital took part in the round through its link with Seishi Ogawa, a professor at Kyoto University’s Department of Pathology and Tumour Biology, who has joined Chordia.

Chordia was formed by six former scientists at Takeda. Drug candidates licensed from the corporate includ an adult T cell leukaemia lymphoma treatment and a preclinical protein kinase inhibitor that could form the basis of an anti-cancer drug.

The startup is also making use of lab space at Takeda’s facilities in the Shonan region of Japan, where the scientists used to work, but which the corporate is converting into an incubator.

Chordia is one of three startups Takeda has spun out as part of its entrepreneurship venture scheme, the others being drug discovery services providers ChromaJean and Seedsupply. The Shonan site is also hosting Takeda-backed joint ventures Cardurion, Scohia Pharma and T-Cira.

– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.