Modulus Discovery Closes $25.5M USD Series B

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Modulus Discovery, Inc., a preclinical-stage technology-driven drug discovery firm, announces the successful closing of its series B funding round in the amount of 2.71 B JPY (approximately $25.5M USD). Series B investors include SBI Investments Co., Ltd., Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd., JAFCO Co., Ltd., Keio Innovation Initiative, Inc., SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd., The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited, UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd., Mobile Internet Capital, Inc., Medifuture, Co., Ltd., Essential Pharma, Co., Ltd., and existing shareholder, Fast Track Initiative, Inc. Modulus has raised to date, a total of 3.51B JPY (approximately $33.1M USD) across its series A and B rounds. Modulus will use the proceeds to further its unique small-molecule lead programs in oncology and inflammatory / immune disorders and expand its portfolio of early programs and collaborations including those with its strategic partner, PeptiDream, Inc.

Comment from S. Roy Kimura, Cofounder and CEO of Modulus Discovery, Inc.
“As the climate and needs for the healthcare industry continue to rapidly evolve, we are extremely grateful to our existing investors, partners, and new investors who have joined us in our work to discover breakthrough medicines for patients and their families in need. To date, we have successfully identified and characterized several of our own unique lead molecules in our oncology and inflammation/immune disorder programs and we are excited to now be in a position to bring these a step closer to clinical testing through partnerships with major players in the industry.”

Comment from Koki Hirota, SBI Investments, Co., Ltd.
“We are honored to work with the Modulus team led by CEO, Dr. Roy Kimura, consisting of drug discovery simulation experts and pharma industry experienced researchers with a track record of delivering multiple drug candidates to the clinic. Operating a novel drug discovery business model that involves lacking ownership of any experimental lab space, and leveraging the latest supercomputing technologies to discover and optimize active material ingredients that make up pre-clinical therapeutic candidates, we are excited to work with Modulus to open up brand new markets in small-molecule discovery. We hope to support Modulus’ business expansion by making full use of SBI Group’s rich industry relationships.”

Comment from Yoshiaki Kodoi, Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd.
“In January of this year, Mizuho Capital just launched a new fund specializing in the life sciences, and Modulus is our first investment from this new fund. Modulus is developing a promising business with the potential to continuously and sustainably produce multiple breakthrough drug candidates through a revolutionary approach based in part on its world-class computational drug discovery platform. We believe the firm’s superior portfolio strategy prioritizing discovery programs with the greatest potential value-add and shortest delivery time to licensing markets is in agreement with its mission “to accelerate the discovery of new medicines for patients and their families”. The business also poses a challenge to the industry as a successful example of a next generation virtual pharma model. We fully support Modulus and its outstanding management team poised to take huge leaps on the world stage.”

Comment from Miwa Toyoda, JAFCO Co., Ltd.
“With rich experiences in drug discovery and computational sciences, the Modulus team holds deep insights in computational technology and biology and the ability to develop and expand its business globally. As therapeutic modalities continue to diversify and proliferate in the industry, we are confident that Modulus will achieve breakthroughs in small-molecules therapeutics, the original modality, and create revolutionary medicines. Through this investment, we are excited to be able to work together with Modulus toward this challenge. We are fully committed to working diligently to support further growth of Modulus.”

Comment from Kotaro Yamagishi, CEO, Keio Innovation Initiative, Inc.
“Although drug discovery is an area traditionally dominated by American and European biotechnology ventures, we decided to invest into Modulus based on our evaluation of the company’s management that integrates its strong scientific approach, spearheaded by its computational technology with potential for global success, with a logical business strategy. We hope that Modulus will not only create a large social impact through the discovery of multiple revolutionary medicines, but also that it will grow to become a globally respected company and create a new model for drug discovery ventures from Japan.”

About Modulus:
Modulus Discovery, Inc., is a preclinical-stage technology-driven drug discovery firm with offices in Tokyo and Boston. The company is pursuing its proprietary portfolio of small-molecule discovery programs and collaborations through integration of its unique core biology insights, cutting-edge discovery platform, and scalable networked operations. Modulus is focused on the efficient delivery of breakthrough medicines for patients and their families with unmet medical needs in areas including oncology, chronic inflammation / immune disorders, and rare genetic conditions. For further information, please visit www.modulusdiscovery.com.

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