NIPPON KAYAKU ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE LICENSING AND COMMERCIALISATION AGREEMENT WITH BIOCHEETAH FOR VECanDx TM IN JAPAN
2023/12/15Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo; President: Mr. Atsuhiro Wakumoto; hereinafter "Nippon Kayaku") and BioCheetah Pte. Ltd. (Head Office: Singapore; CEO: Dr. Lee Kian Chung; hereinafter "BioCheetah") announce that the two companies have entered into a licensing agreement for the exclusive rights to develop and market in Japan a novel urinary bladder cancer diagnostic marker assay kit, VECanDxTM ELISA (hereinafter "Product"), which BioCheetah develops in Singapore with the aim of obtaining regulatory approval as an in vitro diagnostic product.
1. Outline of the Agreement
Under the agreement, Nippon Kayaku will obtain from BioCheetah the exclusive rights to develop and market the Product in Japan. BioCheetah will continue to complete clinical trials in Singapore, France and China, while Nippon Kayaku will be responsible for clinical trials, regulatory application, distribution, sales, promotion, etc. of Product in Japan. Nippon Kayaku will pay an upfront payment upon signing the agreement, as well as milestone payments based on the commercialization of the Product in Japan to BioCheetah.
2. About VECanDx TM
This in vitro diagnostic candidate uses ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay) as its measurement principle to measure five biomarkers that BioCheetah has newly discovered in urine of bladder cancer patients. The measured values of each biomarker are assigned to Product's dedicated software to calculate a risk score and detect bladder cancer.
3. Outline of BioCheetah Pte. Ltd.
1) Business Name ： BioCheetah Pte. Ltd.
2) Head Office Address ： 79 Ayer Rajah Crescent, #05-09, Singapore 139955
3) Representative ： Dr. Lee Kian Chung, CEO
4) Foundation ： 2018
5) Business Activities ： Search for new biomarkers and research, development and marketing of non-invasive testing methods, etc.
6) Relationship with Nippon Kayaku ： Capital relationship, personal relationship, business relationship, and related party status: None
4. About BioCheetah
BioCheetah is a Singapore-based, A*STAR-IMCB spin-off diagnostics company. It is primarily set up to develop and commercialize non-invasive, protein-based immunodiagnostic applications. They are currently developing ELISA and POCT kits for the discovered markers.
5. Future Outlook
The impact of this agreement on our consolidated business results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024 is expected to be insignificant. We believe that it will contribute to improving our business performance and corporate value in the medium to long term.
[Contact]
Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd., Corporate Communications Division
TEL: +81-3-6731-5237