Teijin Pharma Limited, the core company of the Teijin Group's healthcare business headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and TransThera Biosciences Co. Ltd., a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Nanjing, China, jointly announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration agreement for joint research and development of the innovative drugs in the target fields of oncology and inflammatory diseases.

Teijin Pharma and TransThera will establish a joint drug discovery collaboration of multiple drug targets with the immediate goal of acquiring compounds as candidates for new drug development based on the targets and compounds found by Teijin Pharma, and share the research outcomes in both Japan and China. Also, the two companies will share a global development license when the compound enters the development stage and consider the joint development and launch of new drugs in Japan, China, and rest of the world.

Teijin Pharma and TransThera have the same vision in prompt supply of innovative new drugs to patients with unmet medical needs around the world. The two companies are confident that they can complement the strengths of their research foundations for small molecule drug discovery in a manner of time and cost saving and accuracy enhancement in new drug development.

"We are delighted to create innovative new drugs together with TransThera," said Ichiro Watanabe, president of Teijin Pharma Limited. "Under the Teijin Group's current medium-term management plan, we are contributing to sustainability by developing solutions for a demographic change and increased health consciousness. Launching new drugs will be a key factor in our implementation of this plan and we look forward to creating innovative new drugs together with TransThera."

"I am very excited about the opportunity for TransThera to work with Teijin pharma, a leading R&D based company of high repute with admirable tradition," said Frank Wu, CEO of TransThera. "Combining both companies' outstanding target validation expertise, lead identification capability and development platform will certainly expedite the drug discovery process, hopefully bringing more drug therapies to the patients.  I look forward to the productive work ahead."

"I believe that this collaboration between Japanese and Chinese companies with a proactive mindset would set a new R&D model to increase R&D productivity and manage R&D risk," Keiji Kawamoto, Senior Advisor of External Alliance of TransThera and co-founder of KoMong & Associates added. "I am pleased that my KoMong team members contribute significantly toward this exciting collaboration."

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 more than 170 companies and employs some 20,000 people across 20 countries worldwide. Teijin posted consolidated sales of JPY 853.7 billion (USD 8.0 billion) and total assets of JPY 1,004.2 billion (USD 9.4 billion) in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2020.

About TransThera Biosciences

TransThera Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing innovative therapeutics to target diseases with major unmet medical needs via internal research platform and open innovation. TransThera's current portfolio covers therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases. 

About KoMong & Associates

KoMong & Associates was founded in Tokyo, Japan  by Dr. Yasushi Honma, Mr. Hidehiro Ando, and Mr. Keiji Kawamoto to realize pharma's innovative growth through "China-Japan Cross-Border Collaboration". KoMong & Associates promotes collaborations with Japanese companies as the consultancy function of TransThera.