Japan-based cell therapy developer Cuorips has raised ¥2bn ($19.3m) from investors including medical equipment producer Asahi Intecc, construction firm Dai-Dan, cord blood bank StemCell Institute and pharmaceutical firm Taiko Pharmaceutical.
Kyoto University Innovation Capital (KU-iCap), an investment vehicle for Kyoto University, filled out the round.
Founded in early 2017 as Cuore, the company was spun out by Osaka University and renamed Cuorips later in the year. It is working on a cell-derived therapy mainly composed of cardiomyocytes, the cells that make up the heart muscle.
The therapy will involve induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a cell aggregate in which individual cells form a sheet-like tissue, being transplanted into the heart of patients with severe heart failure.
Cuorips will use the funding to accelerate research and development efforts, establish cell manufacturing facilities and build a commercialisation system in a bid to launch its iPSC products in the next three years as it looks to expand outside of Japan.
KU-iCap had already backed a $9.1m round for Cuorips in mid-2018 alongside clinical thermometer maker Terumo and pharmaceutical firm Daiichi Sankyo, the latter having already invested an undisclosed amount in the company the year before.
