News

JIC Venture Growth Investments (JIC VGI) has acquired the shares in Sosei Group Corporation (Sosei), through its JICVGI Opportunity Fund No.1 (OPF1).

OPF1 is a fund launched in September 2023 with JIC VGI as its General Partner, whose strategy is to provide funding to direct secondary deals and listed startups. OPF1 is one ofthe JIC's initiatives included in the government's "Startup Development Five-Year Plan". OPF1 aims to further boost the growth curve of startups, create unicorns, and support the sustainable and rapid growth of promising listed startups. OPF1 also aims to create successful cases of investment in the direct secondary and after-market areas, thereby contributing to the revitalization of the domestic secondary and growth markets, and to the strengthening and expansion of the domestic startup ecosystem as a whole.

Through this investment to Sosei, VGI will contribute to Sosei's continued and dramatic growth, and help it grow into a global biotech company originated by Japan and the UK.Sosei, the investee, has established a GPCR drug discovery platform, partnered with several major pharmaceutical companies, and established a development and sales structure in Japan and APAC (excluding China) through M&A. Currently, Sosei is in a transitional stage of evolution from a bio-venture company.

Use of Proceeds

(i) In-licensing of programs and products.

(ii) Investment in late-stage development and commercialization activities in Japan.

(iii) early research and development including expansion of drug discovery platforms.

Sosei Group Corporation

Sosei is a full-set biopharmaceutical company with a mission to create life-changing medicines through world-leading science and to become the leading international biopharmaceutical company from Japan.The Group combines its world-leading G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-targeted StaR technology, structure-based drug discovery (SBDD*) and early-stage development capabilities in the UK with its experienced clinical development and commercialization operations in Japan.

^{The information contained in this notice is current at the time of publication and subject to change without notice.}