April 23, 2024
EPS Holdings, Inc.
News Release

IRO Business Providing Total Business Solutions Starts on Full Scale-Elimination of drug lag and drug loss, and support for foreign biotech
companies entering the Japanese market2024/4/23, EPS Holdings, Inc., News Release --- EPS Holdings, Inc. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku,Tokyo, Japan; Representative Director: Hao Yan; hereafter, “EPSHD”) announces that it has started
IRO (Innovative Research Organization) business operations on a full scale, to provide totalsolutions to foreign biotech companies and domestic healthcare venture companies.
1．Description of IRO BusinessIn our IRO business, we will provide greatly needed CRO services to the clients, who are foreign
biotech companies and domestic healthcare ventures, in a form of total solutions that go beyond
those conventionally provided by CROs. This includes support of business planning (support forentering the Japanese market in case of foreign biotech companies), support of exit strategy
formulation (including licensing-out to partner companies), consulting on development planning forindividual candidates in pipelines, preclinical and clinical trial consulting, CMO search support andsupport of logistics, sales, and marketing.
EPSHD has provided total IRO business solutions to domestic healthcare venture companies since
the establishment of this business in 2022, and it will now be developed on a full scale to include
foreign biotech companies as well.
2．Background and Overview of Business
At present, drug lag and drug loss are serious issues in Japan. Some of the reasons for this are thecomplexity of Japan’s clinical trial procedures and pharmaceutical regulations, and the framework
for implementing clinical trials peculiar to Japan, which includes academia. This presents highhurdles to market entry for foreign biotech companies.
Expansion of our IRO business to include foreign biotech companies and the start of its full-scale
operation will contribute to eliminate drug loss by solving the above issues faced by foreign biotech
companies and supporting their entry into the Japanese market.
Recently, the EPSHD group company EPS Medical Consultancy (Japan) Co., Ltd. (Head Office:Tokyo, Japan; Representative Director: Kosuke Kuronuma) concluded consulting agreements withseveral Chinese emerging biotech companies on business development and clinical development inJapan, as Japan’s first IRO business. EPS has now started providing IRO total business solutions incollaboration with other EPS group companies.
3．Future Outlook
To support the entry of foreign biotech companies into the Japanese market and the business
operation of domestic healthcare venture companies, EPSHD aims to greatly expand the IRO
business in times to come. In the medium to long-term, the size of this business is expected to befrom several billion yen to 10 billion yen.
By actively accelerating the overseas expansion of our IRO business, we will contribute to the entryof foreign biotech companies into the Japanese market and elimination of drug lag in Japan.

[EPS Holdings, Inc.]
Since its establishment as a CRO pioneer in 1991, EPSHD has provided solutions regarding drugdevelopment, post-marketing development, marketing and sales, as well as consultation. Inaddition, it has been a healthcare solution provider offering new value to pharmaceuticalcompanies, medical device companies, hospitals, clinics and academia through big data & AI, andregenerative medicine initiatives. In 2021, we established a drug discovery business to support theclinical development of drug candidates originating in academia as well as in domestic and foreign
bio-ventures, and started a business providing marketing support in Japan and other countries.
[EPS Medical Consultancy (Japan) Co., Ltd.]The role of EPS Medical Consultancy (Japan) Co., Ltd. is as a business support company whose
major business involves linking up pharmaceutical and medical device development in Japan, Chinaand other parts of Asia. In its business to support drug discovery, it provides one-stop solutions toJapanese healthcare ventures as well as emerging biotech companies in China and other parts ofAsia. The following gives details of support provided:
1.Support of Japanese healthcare ventures and support of emerging biotech companies in China andthe rest of Asia planning business expansion into the Japanese market (including In/Out licensing
support as exit strategy), consulting regarding development and planning for individual candidates
in pipelines and 2.Clinical trial-related services to support advances of Japanese pharmaceuticalcompanies into the Chinese market.

Reference: Overall View of IRO BusinessContact: EPS Holdings, Inc.
Corporate Communication OfficeE-mail：pr@eps.co.jp