iXgene Co., Ltd., a venture company originating from Keio University School of Medicine, is a 600 million yen series underwritten by Keio Innovation Initiative Co., Ltd., University of Tokyo Collaborative Platform Development Co., Ltd., MSF Capital Partners LLC, and Green Core Co., Ltd. We implemented A financing.

iXgene Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Shunji Furukawa) is a venture company originating from the Department of Neurosurgery at Keio University School of Medicine that aims to commercialize gene and cell therapy methods for intractable brain diseases using genome-edited iPS cells. It was established on January 6, 2020. We have been developing a brain tumor treatment method using iPS cell-derived neural stem cells into which a suicide gene has been introduced through genome editing, and we have recently implemented Series A financing totaling 600 million yen. With this funding, we will proceed with non-clinical trials for brain tumor treatment and advance the development of genome-edited iPS-derived neural stem cells with the aim of first-in-human production.
This time, the lead investor is Keio Innovation Initiative Co., Ltd., with participation from the University of Tokyo Collaborative Platform Development Co., Ltd., MSF Capital Partners LLC, a CVC of HU Group Holdings Co., Ltd., and Green Core Co., Ltd. Ta. 

[List of investors in this round (in no particular order)]
Keio Innovation Initiative Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director Kotaro Yamagishi)
The University of Tokyo Collaborative Creation Platform Development Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director Oizumi) Katsuhiko)
MSF Capital Partners LLC (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Executive Officer: Naoki Kitamura)
Green Core Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Ryusuke Honjo)

[Comment from Shunji Furukawa, Representative Director of iXgene Co., Ltd.]
Our mission is to combine iPS cells and gene editing technology to develop platform technology for the treatment of various intractable diseases for which there are still no established treatments. First, we aim to develop new anti-cancer treatments for malignant brain tumors and regenerative medicine for traumatic brain injury and cerebral infarction using genome-edited neural stem cells. Through this funding, we have put in place a system in which we can expect not only financial support but also business support for the start of corporate clinical trials in a few years. We will do our best to provide our treatment methods to patients as soon as possible.

[Comment from Mr. Yukatsu Hongo, Keio Innovation Initiative]
iXgene is a serious company that provides a new treatment method in the field of malignant brain tumors, which has high unmet medical needs, by using our uniquely developed genome-edited iPS cell-derived neural stem cells. We are working on highly difficult themes. The reason we are able to tackle such difficult themes is because we are a startup born out of medical school, but when deciding to invest, we also evaluated the fact that we have a strong team of people working on the business, including management and science founders. This is a great point. We are very pleased to welcome new investors through this capital increase and to be able to take on this challenge together. We will continue to do our best to contribute to future growth.