Media Release
EditForce completed fund raising by third-party allotment
Fukuoka, Japan, 7 May, 2021 – EditForce Inc. (“EditForce”) has announced that it has raised
800 million yen (approximately 7.27 million US dollars) by May 7, 2021, from the lead investor
NEWTON BIOCAPITAL as well as other new and existing investors by third-party allotment.
EditForce, a venture company with a unique DNA/RNA editing technology, was founded by
KISCO LTD. and Takahiro Nakamura, PhD, Professor, Kyusyu University in 2015, following
additional supports by The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd. (UTEC) and QB
Capital, LLC. EditForce has developed its proprietary pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein
platform technology, which enables editing not only DNA but also RNA, expecting a wide rangeof applications. The PPR technology can also be differentiated from other DNA/RNA editing
technology IPs because of its different mode of action. EditForce has decided to make its efforts
focused on the pharmaceutical field since 2017 and raised additional supports by the investmentsfrom ITOCHU Technology Ventures, Inc. (ITV), NEWTON BIOCAPITAL, Japan Science andTechnology Agency (JST), and K4 Ventures GK by 2019 to develop novel drug candidates withthe PPR technology through multiple alliances with the companies including pharmaceuticalcompanies,.
For this round, EditForce has raised funds from Global Brain and KDDI funds, in addition toNEWTON BIOCAPITAL (lead investor), UTEC, and ITV. By taking full advantage of the broad
networks and deep expertise owned by these corporations, EditForce continues to make endeavors
to successfully apply the unique PPR technology worldwide in pharmaceutical fields.
Investors:- NEWTON BIOCAPITAL- Global Brain Corporation- KDDI Corporation- The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners- ITOCHU Technology Ventures, Inc.
About EditForce:
It is a venture company that is developing a PPR protein platform technology as the DNA/RNA
editing tool.

Headquarters: Fukuoka Tenjin Fukoku Seimei Bldg., 4th Fl.
1-9-17 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 810-0001, Japan
Capital:

JPY489,999,240 as of May 7, 2021

President:

Takashi Ono

Board ofHisako Otoshi (Board of directors, CFO)

Directors:

Yusuke Yagi (Board of directors. CTO)
Osamu Nakanishi (Board of directors, CSO)Atsushi Usami (Partner and Board Director,
The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd.)
Teruyuki Fukuda (Director & Executive Officer, KISCO LTD.)
Koji Abe (Vice President, ITOCHU Technology Ventures, Inc.)
Toshiyuki Mori (Representative Partner, TM Partners LLC)
Yao Li (Investment Director, NEWTON BIOCAPITAL PARTNERS)

Audit

and Yasushi Kojima, Statutory Auditor

Supervisory

Tomotaka Goji (Managing Partner and President,
The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd.)Board:

Yasunobu Akimitsu (General Manager, Finance and Accounting Dept.,
KISCO LTD. )About PPR platform technology:
PPR is a protein that was discovered in plants, which regulates the gene expression by binding
RNA or DNA in a sequence-specific manner. PPR proteins are also found in humans and yeasts,and they have similar functions to those of plants. Dr. Takahiro Nakamura (Professor, Kyushu
University, and the advisor of EditForce) and Dr. Yusuke Yagi (CSO, EditForce) focused on thePPR proteins and elucidated the recognition mode of RNA/DNA by PPR proteins. Thiselucidation paves the way to a new technology for the rational design of artificial PPR proteinstargeted to specific RNA/DNA sequences. Versatile DNA/RNA editing tools can be created byintegrating the PPR protein with various enzymes.
About KISCO LTD.:Tokyo, Japan; Takekazu Kishimoto, President
Since its founding in 1921, KISCO LTD. is a specialized trading and business developing
company that offering solutions meet customers' needs with a wide range of fields such as
chemicals, synthetic resins, electronics materials, packaging materials and biotechnology.
We have trading offices and manufacturing bases in Japan, China, Asia, Americas and Europe,aiming for existence that plays a role as a bridge between advanced materials and customers,
and has expanded the scope of our activity areas.
For more information on KISCO Corporation, please visit our web site. https://www.kisconet.com/About The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC):Tokyo, Japan; Tomotaka Goji, Managing Partner and President
Since its inception in 2004, The University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC) has conducted venture
capital investments pioneering frontiers to solve global issues of humankind, by bringing capital,
talent and knowledge, around science and technology. With our latest fund UTEC 4 Limited
Partnership founded with the commitment of approx. JPY 24.2 billion in April 2018, we havefounded four funds totaling approx. JPY 54.3 billion. We have invested in 114 start-ups, 13 ofwhich went public and 12 were acquired in M&A transactions. On May 7, 2021, UTEC launched
UTEC 5 Limited Partnership (UTEC 5) and closed its first round. UTEC 5 is expected to exceed
JPY 30 billion in total by June 2021, making it the largest venture capital fund in Japan in scienceand technology fields as of today. The aggregated amount of assets under management fromUTEC 1 to UTEC 5 will amount to approximately JPY 85 billion.
About Newton Biocapital:Brussels, Belgium; Alain Parthoens, Managing Partner
Newton Biocapital is a Venture Capital Fund incorporated in Belgium, focused on financing
biotech and life science projects in the "core of Europe" (B, NL, D, F) and Japan for the prevention
and treatment of chronic diseases. The fund's approach as lead investor is to support promising
start-up projects as well as neglected or undervalued late-stage projects, in order to mitigate therisks and to create investor value. The leadership team consists of specialists with long-standing
management and investor experience who coach bio-entrepreneurs through the development
stages of their projects. Newton Biocapital's mission is to generate substantial financial andsocietal value by providing innovative, breakthrough, and affordable solutions to patients
For

more

informationon

NewtonBiocapital,pleasevisit

ourwebsite.

https://www.newtonbiocapital.com/
About ITOCHU Technology Ventures, Inc.:Tokyo, Japan; Shinzo Nakano, President & CEO/Partner
ITOCHU Technology Ventures, Inc. (ITV) has been engaged in investments in venture companies
as well as assisting them with solution to carry out its primary mission of fostering innovativetechnology venture companies to become a part of the de fact standard in the next

generation. Since its establishment in 2000, ITV has been launching five consecutive venture
funds and investing more than 160 companies. ITV’s investment areas include ICT, finance,infrastructure and energy, agriculture, healthcare and medicine, education, social services for theconsumer sector. With its focus on Japan, ITV also invests in potentially prominent foreigncompanies that create advanced and innovative services or technologies.
About Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST):
Saitama, Japan; Michinari Hamaguchi, President
JST is an organization that leads Japan’s science and technology (S&T) development as aninnovation navigator. JST aim to contribute to the lives of people and the achievement of asustainable society by promoting S&T for the purpose of opening up opportunities in innovation.
Since its foundation, JST’s many outstanding achievements accomplished in collaboration withthe government, universities, the industrial sector and public have been earned global recognition.
This is the investment program "SUCCESS" for start-ups putting JST-funded R&Ds into practicalapplication.
www.jst.go.jp/EN/index.html
About K4 Ventures (The Kansai Electric Power Group):Osaka, Japan; Takashi Morimoto, Chief Executive Officer
K4 Ventures Good Kaisha (K4 Ventures) is a corporate venture capital firm of The Kansai ElectricPower Group Company. K4 Ventures invests in venture companies that (1) have potential to growthrough collaboration belong to the energy-related industry, telecommunications industry, andreal estate and social life industry, or (2) have innovative technologies/visions to provide solutionsfor customers or world-wide issues, beyond the short-term collaboration. K4 Ventures supports
the growth of outstanding venture companies as their partner and promotes collaborations among
companies to obtain a synergistic effect. The mission of K4 Ventures is to provide fast, innovative
solutions for energy, environmental, and food-supply issues.
About QB Capital, LLC:
Fukuoka, Japan; Tsuyoshi Sakamoto, Managing Partner, Takashi Hondo, Managing Partner
QB Capital, LLC manages the first “industry-academia collaboration” fund established in Kyushu
area. QB Capital, LLC invests in research seeds and seed- to early-stage ventures, based on
research seeds from universities mainly in Kyushu area. Furthermore, QB Capital, LLC supports
the establishment of these venture companies. QB Capital, LLC tackles the development of an
innovative industry in Kyushu area and its use in society, by providing “seamless hands-on”
support from beginning to growing-stage of these companies.

About Global Brain Corporation:
Global Brain was established in 1998 and is a venture capital firm based in Tokyo with offices inSan Francisco, London, Seoul, Singapore and Jakarta. The total asset under management is over
$1.5B. Global Brain has invested in 200+ startups from seed/early to pre-IPO startups andachieved 21 IPOs and 51 M&As as a result of providing hands-on support services and resources
to its portfolio startups as of April, 2021.
About KDDI Open Innovation Fund III:KDDI Open Innovation Fund, established in 2012, is the corporate venture fund to support
Japanese and overseas promising ventures with operation by KDDI Corporation and GlobalBrain. KDDI Open Innovation Fund III, the size of which amounts to JPY 20 billion wasestablished in 2018, specializes in investing in entertainment, home, IoT, big data and FinTech.
KDDI Open Innovation Fund III actively invests in start-ups and support their business to create
innovation.
For the track record, see https://www.kddi.com/english/open-innovation-program/koif/portfolio/

Contact:
Administration Department
EditForce, Inc.
Tel: +81-3-6721-8883