GEXVal Completed the Close of New Funding Round with JPY 450 Million (USD 3 Million)

GEXVal Inc.
4 December 2023

GEXVal Completed the Close of New Funding Round with JPY 450 Million (USD 3 Million)   

GEXVal Inc. (President & CEO: Juran Kato, Kanagawa, Japan), a clinical stage biotech company focused on the research and development of drugs for rare and intractable diseases, announces the closing of a C Investment Round with JPY 450 million. The new investment comes from Axil Capital, UTC Investment (Seoul, Korea), Oita Venture Capital as new investors along with existing investors Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and SMBC Venture Capital. Proceeds from this funding round will be used to accelerate the lead clinical program and add to the development pipeline.

"We are very pleased to participate in GEXVal's efforts to find new treatments for rare diseases. It is challenging for major pharmaceutical companies to engage in early development in rare diseases. GEXVal's approach to identify promising assets from major pharmaceutical companies and seek to develop them, is hugely important for patients and families living with rare diseases. We have great confidence in the GEXVal team and look forward to successful delivery of new treatment options for patients with rare diseases" commented Dr. Akihisa Seita of Axil Capital.

“We are a venture capital based in Seoul, Korea, investing tech companies across Asian countries and globally. We focus on building internal competency and securing additional growth opportunities through active value-up activities in such sectors as bio/healthcare, life-style and IT/semiconductor. We are very pleased to contribute to the strengthening of the healthcare ecosystem in Korea and Japan through this investment.” says Mr. Seayeon Kim, CEO of UTC Investment.

“It is estimated that over 400 million patients, worldwide suffer from rare diseases*. However, only 5% of them have access to medicines**. Our approach is to uncover the hidden value of drug candidates using our unique AI-based technologies and quickly progress to early clinical development, deploying a highly productive drug discovery model to achieve a sustainable circular economy. We are Purposed to Repurpose^® shelved pharma industry assets and committed to deliver affordable, innovative medicines and improve Access to Medicine for patients with rare and intractable diseases. We are very grateful for the continuous support from patient advocacy groups, medical professionals and investors across the globe" says Dr. Juran Kato, President and CEO and also co-founder of the Company.

References:
*Rare disease: Definition varies between countries.
- Japan (<50,000、<4 in 10,000, with population of 128 Million)
-- MHLW  https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000068484.html
-- Japan Intractable Disease Information Center  https://www.nanbyou.or.jp/ 
- US   (<200,000、<6.37 in 10,000 with population of 1400 Million)
-- NORD  https://rarediseases.org/about/
- EU   (<250,000、<5 in 10,000 with population of 514 Million)
-- Orphanet  https://www.orpha.net/consor/cgi-bin/index.php

**: PhRMA, 2022, A Decade of Innovation in Rare Diseases

For further information:
Axil Capital    https://www.axilcapital.com/inquiries-en
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital  https://www.mucap.co.jp/english/
Oita Venture Capital   https://www.oita-vc.co.jp/contact/  (contents only available in Japanese)
SMBC Venture Capital  https://www.smbc-vc.co.jp/contact/   (contents only available in Japanese)
UTC Investment  http://utc.co.kr/main_e/sub/contact.html
GEXVal Inc.  info@gexval.com

End of document.