Chordia Therapeutics Inc26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 251-0012 Japan
info@chordiatherapeutics.com

November 22, 2017 3:00 PM JST
Launch of Chordia Therapeutics
Chordia established by former Takeda scientists to develop novel small molecule
therapeutics in oncology
Kanagawa, Japan, November 22, 2017 – Chordia Therapeutics Inc. (“Chordia”) waslaunched in Shonan Health Innovation Park at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited(“Takeda”) Shonan site, and entered into an investment agreement, shareholders agreement
and other agreements with Takeda and other investors on November 21, 2017. Takeda andventure capital syndicate of Kyoto University innovation capital, Mitsubishi UFJ capital and
SMBC venture capital will participate series A investment finance. Chordia seeks to discover
new therapeutic options for areas of high unmet medical needs in oncology.
The newly formed company will develop multiple preclinical assets licensed from Takeda,including CDC-like kinase (“CLK”) inhibitors. Chordia uses fully-equipped laboratory spaceand other resources at Takeda’s Health Innovation Park to support efficient drug researchand development. Chordia was established by six former Takeda scientists through theTakeda Entrepreneurship Venture Program (“EVP”) initiative. The EVP initiative was created
to promote innovation and an environment of entrepreneurship by combining selected
Takeda assets or technologies and outstanding scientists with start-up support.
Hiroshi Miyake, representative director of Chordia and former site head of the oncology drug
discovery unit at the Takeda Shonan site, said, “Our mission is to deliver new therapeutic
options from Japan as quickly as possible to patients fighting against cancers. We are looking
to achieving this by leveraging our global scientific network to accelerate drug discovery anddevelopment. Our company name, Chordia, is derived from the word ‘chord,’ which aremusical notes that sound pleasant when played together. Like a chord, we are working
towards harmonizing our energy and passion for science with our collaborators, supporters,and stakeholders to enable the discovery of innovative drugs.”
Chordia was founded by scientists with various specialties in pharmacology, chemistry, andcomputational sciences. Each member is an expert in their field and has a track record ofsuccess in drug discovery. To accelerate drug discovery, Chordia will collaborate closely withacademia. One prominent collaboration is with Prof. Seishi Ogawa at Kyoto University, aChordia Therapeutics Inc26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 251-0012 Japan
info@chordiatherapeutics.com

leading cancer genome scientist. He discovered mutations on splicing factors in cancer,
which shed light on the molecular mechanism of cancer formation. This collaboration enables
Chordia to effectively develop CLK inhibitors that modify the splicing reaction to kill cancer
cells. Prof. Ogawa also discovered the molecular basis of adult T cell leukemia lymphoma(“ATLL”). This work led to the creation of the drug discovery collaboration program among
Kyoto University, Miyazaki University and Chordia, which is supported by a grant of
Acceleration Transformative Research for Medical Innovation (“ACT-M”) in Japan Agency for
Medical Research and Development (“AMED”).
“Collaborations among industry, academia, and governmental organization are becoming akey driver for innovation in healthcare”, said Miyake. “We look forward to establishing evenmore partnerships in future.”
Chordia’s research strategy focuses on developing a molecular-targeted drug andpersonalized medicine. Since cancer is caused by various molecular factors, it is important
to approach the right targets in the right patients. Chordia seeks to develop chemicalcompounds against causative molecules and phenomenon in cancer, and deliver thecompounds to the right patients to generate solid clinical trial evidence.
Main development programs for Chordia Therapeutics Inc.
Program

Disease area

Development stage

CLK inhibitor

CancerPreclinical study

Drug for ATLL

Adult T cell leukemia lymphoma (ATLL)

Preclinical study