December 20th, 2021
News Release
aceRNA Technologies Co., Ltd,President, Teruo Susumu

Nitto and aceRNA Entered into an Agreement toJointly Develop Switch mRNA Therapy
Nitto Denko Corporation (Headquarters: Osaka; President, CEO & COO: Hideo Takasaki;“Nitto”, hereafter) and aceRNA Technologies Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kyoto; President,Teruo Susumu; "aceRNA", hereafter) announced today that they have entered into anagreement to jointly develop Switch mRNA therapy, with Nitto investing an undisclosed
sum in aceRNA.
AceRNA is a Biotech-startup that develops technologies related to gene therapy. The company
has the right to use the RNA Switch, which was developed by Professor Hirohide Saito from theCenter for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University. The RNA Switch is integrated
into messenger RNA (mRNA) to control mRNA functions, depending on the active status ofmicroRNA (miRNA) in cells. aceRNA has developed its own screening technology to acquire
miRNA from the approximately 2,600 different types of miRNA in humans, beneficial to thetreatment of target diseases. By combining this technology with the RNA Switch, aceRNA isdeveloping mRNA therapy that enables more precise control of treatment than ever before.

Figure 1 RNA Switch Overview
Nitto, a manufacturer of high-performance materials providing a wide range of products to variousindustries, is focusing on three business domains: Information Interface, Next-generation Mobility,and Human Life. In the field of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics, which is part of the Human life
domain, Nitto has conducted clinical trials for drugs of intractable diseases, such as liver cirrhosis,
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and KRAS mutant cancers. For these drugs, Nitto utilizes siRNA(*1) drug discovery technology and DDS (*2) technology with which siRNA is delivered to targetorgans. Nitto aims to develop new businesses which utilize DDS technology for mRNA therapy,
to contribute to creating a safe and healthy society.
As Nitto and aceRNA form a capital alliance, they will promote the development of mRNA therapy,
that enables more stable and refined controlled treatment in living bodies, through the combined
use of Nitto's DDS technology and aceRNA’s RNA Switch. They will proceed to verify theirconcept by the end of September 2023 and aim to license mRNA therapy to pharmaceuticalcompanies in the future.

Figure 2 Image of delivering mRNA with DDS to Target Cells*1: siRNA (small interference RNA) consists of short double-stranded RNA of 21 to 23 residues
and suppresses gene expression by cleaving a significant part of the transcript of a target gene.
*2: DDS (Drug Delivery System) is a technology which enhances the effectiveness of drugs andreduces side effects. It controls the drug distribution to the body as well as delivers themspecifically to the tissues and cells targeted.
About Nitto Denko Corporation
Nitto is a Japanese manufacturer of high-performance materials. Since its founding in 1918, Nitto
provides a wide range of products based on four core technologies: adhesion, coating, polymer function
control, and polymer analysis & evaluation. A few examples are polarizing film, indispensable fordisplays of smartphones and TVs, industrial adhesive tape, automobile parts and medical supplies.
Remaining faithful to the brand slogan, “Innovation for Customers,” Nitto continues to contribute to abetter society and environment through its innovative products and services and delivers technologies
that shapes the future. For further information, please visit Nitto’s official
website(https://www.nitto.com/jp/en/).

About aceRNA Technologies Co., Ltd.
aceRNA Technologies Co., Ltd. is a biotech startup established in 2018 based on RNA design
technology developed in synthetic RNA biology research by Prof. Hirohide Saito at Kyoto
University. We are developing "smart gene therapy” (mRNA-based and virus-base) that enables
control of therapeutic transgene expression in cell-type and -state specific manner. By that, we arecommitted to develop new therapeutic approach, such as in vivo cell programming.
For more information about aceRNA Technologies, please visit https://acernatec.com/en/.

Contact Information
aceRNA Technologies Corporate Administration Dept.
TEL :075-757-6234
E-mail: info@acernatec.com
Nitto Denko Corporation Brand Strategy Dept.
TEL：06-7632-2101
E-mail :communication_group@nitto.co.jp