Cellusion and Toho Holdings enter Capital and Business Alliance of CLS001 for Corneal Endothelial Cell Regenerative Therapy

Tokyo (January 7th, 2022)-, Cellusion Inc., a regenerative medicine startup aiming to solve the global Corneal transplant waiting list problem with a unique differentiation induction method from iPS cells to Corneal Endothelial Cell Substitute from iPS Cells (CECSi Cells) for bullous keratopathy novel treatment (PJ code: CLS001), today announced enter Capital and Business Alliance with TOHO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., one of leading pharmaceutical wholesaler groups in Japan.

[Objectives and Prospects of the Capital and Business Alliance]
Cellusion is developing CLS001 for the treatment of bullous keratopathy. Cellusion has been currently preparing for the company-sponsored phase 1/2 clinical trials of CLS001 in Japan and overseas and building its supply chain. Cellusion is pleased to welcome TOHO HOLDINGS joining as one of the shareholders in the Series B financing closed in December 2021.
Cellusion and TOHO HOLDINGS will work together to solve the distribution issues of CLS001 by utilizing TOHO HOLDINGS’ total solutions for sales and distribution cultivated through its experience on pharmaceutical products, including its advanced logistic system, provision of information to medical institutions, and collection of post-marketing safety information. Cellusion will enhance its efforts to deliver CLS001 for bullous keratopathy patients all over the world through the alliance with TOHO HOLDINGS.

[About CLS001]
Despite of the fact that more than 13 million waiting patients for potential blinding diseases such as Bullous Keratopathy, which can only be prevented by corneal transplantation, only about 180,000 corneal transplants are performed annually in global. The reason for such the large medical supply-demand gap generated is because current treatments require donor corneas, skilled corneal transplant ophthalmologists, and Eye Banks.
Cellusion is developing CLS001, CECSi cells for Corneal Endothelial regeneration to cure Bullous Keratopathy which is applied more than half of all cases of corneal transplantation. CLS001 is expected to replace the current supply limitations by combining “CECSi Cells made from iPS cells with excellent proliferative properties” and “a simple injection cell delivery procedure without needs of human expertise. “
The initiation approval of the CLS001 first in human investigator-initiated clinical study has already been obtained from the Keio University Specially Certified Committee for Regenerative Medicine as well as the Health Sciences Council of MHLW, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan in July 2021. Keio University and Cellusion are scheduled to start the study at Keio University Hospital as soon as it is ready.

[About Toho Holdings]
TOHO HOLDINGS is a corporate group active in medical, nursing and healthcare fields, engaged in pharmaceutical wholesaling, dispensing pharmacy, manufacturing and sales of pharmaceuticals, and development and provision of customer support systems under the corporate slogan “Total Commitment to Good Health”. The company is known as one of the leading pharmaceutical wholesalers in Japan and is actively investing for establishing of logistics function in biopharmaceuticals, regenerative medicine products, medical devices, etc. to promote business development in these growing fields.

[About Cellusion Inc.]
Cellusion is a regenerative medicine startup born from the Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine in 2015. Cellusion aims to contribute to the improvement of health and well-being around the world by solving unmet medical needs in medicine with its cutting-edge cell therapy technologies, including a unique differentiation induction method from iPS cells to CECSi Cells. Cellusion’s mission is to a community the clear vision of the future with cellular technology breakthrough.

Company ： Cellusion Inc.
CEO ： Shin Hatou, M.D., Ph.D.
Headquarter ：1-13-7 Nihombashi-Muromachi, Chuo, Tokyo 103-0022, JAPAN
Founded ： January 2015
TEL：＋81-3-5843-1785
URL ： https://cellusion.jp/en/

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