April 22, 2024
Cyto-Facto Inc.

Cyto-Facto Inc. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Kobe-City, CEO: Shin Kawamata, hereinafter referred to asCF), which conducts CMO/CDMO business specializing in Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT), has raised
a total of 1.18 billion Yen through the third-party allocation of shares as Series A Fund-raising.
In this fundraising, the total amount of raised funds reached 1.18 billion Yen with investments fromMPower Partners GP, Limited, an ESG-integrated global venture capital fund, and D3 LLC (D3 BioHealthcare Fund Investment Limited Partnership No.1), which advocates a global standard biohealthcare fund, as lead investors respectively, and many business corporations and VCs including
Asahi Kasei, Mitsubishi Corporation, Kobe University Capital, Mizuho Capital, SMBC Venture Capital,and others as follower investors.
The former Research & Development Center for
Cell Therapy (RDC) in Foundation for Biomedical
Research and Innovation at Kobe, the predecessorof CF, was the first in Asia to commerciallymanufacture a CAR-T product, Novartis' Kymriah®.
After spinning out and starting new businessactivities in April 2023, CF has continued to support
Fujifilm Ltd. for its development of the latest CGT,
including the manufacture of investigational
products for regenerative medicine.

As a global leader in the field of CGT development, we have contributed to the development of1

technologies in this field under the leadership of Shin Kawamata, CEO.
Although it has been only one year since the company was established, we are proud that thisfundraising is the result of high expectations for the CFʼs future, and we will use the raised funds
to expand our business while strengthening our internal infrastructure, including ESG
implementation, in order to protect the precious health of patients who need CGTs.
CF's vision for the world of gene and cell therapy - for all patients in need of treatment
When CGTs to be supplied to Japan and Asia are manufactured in Europe and the U.S., the patient's
tissue and blood are sent to manufacturing facilities in Europe and the U.S., and then sent back to Japanand Asia as products again, which entails huge transportation costs. In addition, unlike ordinary
pharmaceutical products, the manufacturing of CGT is not automated, and the costs of manual
manufacturing and labor costs for keeping the manufacturing records cause the price of CGT high, which
is a major burden on patients.
CF has developed human resources with advanced knowledge and skills essential for the manufactureof CGT. As the success of these human resources, CF is the only one company which commerciallymanufactures CGT based on the international manufacturing standards (PIC/S GMP) in Japan. Basedon these achievements, we will continue our efforts to deliver CGT to all patients in need of treatment.

1. Expansion and reinforcement of commercial manufacturing of CGT
In order to deliver CGT to a large number of patients in Japan,
it is necessary to establish a manufacturing system in Japan,
rather than overseas. CF will use the raised funds to further
promote the management and expansion of manufacturing
facilities under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law and thedevelopment of various human resources who will be responsible for these manufacturing facilities. Furthermore, CF
will aim to further expand its business to function as a "hub"for CMO/CDMO of CGT for patients in Asia, taking advantage of its experience of manufacturing
investigational drugs from the overseas pharmaceutical company.

2. Cost reduction and environmental consideration through computerization
CF is developing a cloud-based DX system, CytoFactory 4.0 (CF4.0), to improve manufacturing
efficiency. CF4.0 is an all-in-one manufacturing/information management system that digitizes
inventory control information, manufacturing process records, quality inspection records, andapproval processes, making it possible to accumulate, link, and unify manufacturing-related data inthe cloud and to prove the robustness of the acquired manufacturing information.
In addition, the introduction of CF4.0 is expected not only to realize a completely paperless process,leading to significant cost reductions in thenumber of manufacturing processes and laborcosts, but also to contribute to the revision
process itself and the development of newproducts by linking manufacturing and quality
control data. Furthermore, by changing frompaper-based to cloud-based recording, we will
also take the environment into consideration.

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About the new management structure
CF has restarted with the participation of Ms. Yumiko Murakami from MPower Partners Fund L.P., thelead investor, as an outside director. Together with Mr. Tomoya Nagata of D3 LLC, the company now has
two outside directors and four internal directors.
The directors and employees will work together to effectively utilize the raised funds to resolve the twoissues mentioned above.

Comments from Yumiko Murakami, General Partner of MPower Partners GP, Limited
We saw the potential and significance of CF, which is the only company in all Asia that commerciallymanufactured Novartis' Kymriah (anti-cancer drug) for approximately 200 patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. MPower also has high expectations for the developmentof a system (CF4.0) that leverages this track record, and we are pleased to invest in the company. Webelieve that CF, based on Dr. Kawamata's long-standing research on CGT, will become an indispensable
medical infrastructure not only for Japan but also for Asia through the reinforcement of its sales force
and support from investors, including MPower. MPower is committed to support CF's efforts throughESG implementation, including internal governance and reducing medical waste.

Comments from Tomoya Nagata, Managing Partner of D3 LLC
It has been a year since we spun out from Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation atKobe, a public interest incorporated foundation, as a start-up company. CF, led by Dr. Kawamata, wasknown around the world for its achievements and technological capabilities, but as a private company
that runs and grows on its own, it was a seed-stage startup that had just been born. D3 has beenaccompanying the company since its spin-out, and over the past year, we have been working with thecompany on management, organization, finance, sales, and other aspects of the start-up. A startup
spinout from a public institution is a rare challenge in Japan and abroad. It has been a year ofunprecedented change, but the executives and staff of CF have overcome the challenges. I am sure it
is because of their aspiration to "bring the world's most advanced cell and gene therapy to patients inJapan, and to fulfill our responsibility as an infrastructure that enables Japan to develop medical
technology that will contribute to the world. This process was also highly evaluated, and we were able
to bring in MPower Partners, a globally active VC firm, as the lead investor. In addition, many otherinvestors have also expressed an interest in investing in the company, including Asahi Kasei Corporationand Mitsubishi Corporation as operating companies, SMBC VC and Mizuho Capital as financial institutions,and Kobe University Capital as university VC, resulting in Series A funding that far exceeded our initialplan. Through this financing, CF, as a private company with sustainable growth, will strengthen its sales

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structure as a CGT CDMO covering not only Japan but also Asia. We will also promote the full
implementation of our cell manufacturing DX program based on our experience in cell manufacturing
for the launch of global mega pharma quality standards. Furthermore, as a global leader* in CGT
development and manufacturing, we will continue to promote research and development of cuttingedge CGT technologies.
(*Most recently, Dr. Kawamata will present at ISCT (International Society for Gene and Cell Therapy) inMay of this year: iPSC Signature Series - ISCT 2024 (iPSC Signature Series - ISCT 2024 (isctglobal.org))

Comments from Shin Kawamata, Cyto-Facto CEO
One year has passed since we spun out from FBRI, and we owe this milestone to our great business
partners and stakeholders. Our team is very grateful to have raised nearly 1.2 billion Japanese yen inthis round of funding, and we believe it is a testament to the societal importance of our business andthe high expectations for our growth.
We are humbled and excited to work with our investors, MPower Partners and D3, who are co-leading
this round. D3 has been an ongoing supporter of Cyto-Facto since their initial investment in the summerof 2023, and we are grateful to receive their investment again with MPower, a globally minded and ESGfocused venture capital fund. With other VCs, corporates and trading firms also participating in thisround, we are confident in our journey to become a globally competitive company.

About usSpecializing in CGT, we offer CMO/CDMO business, contract quality testing, and consulting services for
manufacturing CGT.
【Company】
 Name: Cyto-Facto Inc.
 Representative: Shin Kawamata, MD, PhD, CEO Location: Shimin Byoin Mae Bldg 3F, 2-1-11, Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan Establishment: October 18, 2022
 Employees: 65 (as of April 1st, 2024) HP: https://www.cytofacto.com/en/
Contact information: info@cytofacto.com

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