CORE Biomedicine has raised $21 million in Series A financing and received a grant from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development to advance precision oncology programs based on cancer cell lineage.
The venture round was co-led by UTokyo Innovation Platform and Elikon Venture. Other participants included InnoPinnacle Fund, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Suzhou Capital Group, CD Capital, YuanBio Venture Capital, Vision Incubate and Root Venture Partners.
CORE Biomedicine Japan, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, received the grant through AMED’s Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem. The initiative is intended to accelerate biotechnology companies and strengthen Japan’s pharmaceutical development ecosystem.
The grant amount was not disclosed. The funding will support CORE’s research activities and collaborations with Japanese universities, hospitals and biopharmaceutical organizations.
CORE plans to advance its lead programs through drug discovery and early clinical development. The company was established by former leaders of H3 Biomedicine and is developing treatments that examine the biological lineage and identity of cancer cells rather than relying exclusively on genomic mutations.
Genomic precision medicines frequently classify tumors according to specific mutations or molecular alterations. A lineage-based strategy instead targets pathways associated with the type of cell from which a cancer developed and the biological processes that maintain its identity.
CORE believes this approach could reveal drug targets that are not identified through genomic analysis alone and potentially enable therapies to address wider groups of patients. The programs remain in development, and their safety and effectiveness must be established through preclinical studies and clinical trials.
KEY QUOTES:
“This venture financing and AMED’s support represent a major milestone for CORE Biomedicine and validate our vision for a new generation of oncology medicines.”
“We are grateful to our investors and partners as we advance our programs toward the clinic with the goal of bringing transformative therapies to patients globally.”
Dr. Ping Zhu, Co-Founder and CEO of CORE Biomedicine
“CORE Biomedicine’s lineage-based approach addresses a fundamental challenge in cancer biology that genomics alone cannot solve.”
“We are proud to co-lead this financing and look forward to supporting the CORE Biomedicine team as they advance their programs toward the clinic.”
Dr. Makoto “Mark” Ohori, Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Life Sciences at UTokyo Innovation Platform
“Elikon Venture highly recognizes the CORE Biomedicine team for their distinctive insights and extensive R&D experience in oncology area. We are delighted to witness the company’s fast-growing trajectory.”
“We look forward to collaborating with CORE Biomedicine to advance its cutting-edge drug pipeline and address unmet medical needs for global patients by delivering better clinical benefits.”
Elikon Venture
