-JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (TSE 4552; Chairman and President: Shin Ashida: “JCR”) announces that it has signed a Research Collaboration, Option and License Agreement with Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease (“Alexion”) for the development of novel oligonucleotide therapeutics to support targeted delivery to certain tissues or organs using J-Brain Cargo^®, JCR’s proprietary blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrating technology.

“The agreement is another testament of the versatile applicability of the J-Brain Cargo^® Technology to different modalities and of JCR being a partner of choice for the development of biotherapeutics to support targeted delivery to certain tissues or organs.”

Under the terms of the agreement, JCR and Alexion will research and develop oligonucleotide therapeutics using J-Brain Cargo^® Technology. As part of the collaboration, Alexion may nominate up to three targets in rare disease indications for pre-clinical development using the platform. Following pre-clinical development, Alexion will have the option to develop and commercialize the potential new drug candidates.

The collaboration is the second agreement between JCR and Alexion in 2023, following a March announcement regarding a research collaboration, option and license agreement to develop therapeutic protein candidates using J-Brain Cargo^® for neurodegenerative disease.

JCR will receive an upfront payment from Alexion and has the right to receive certain research, development and commercial milestones and royalties.

“I am excited that Alexion and JCR can further extend their collaboration into nucleic acid medicines,” said Shin Ashida, Chairman and President of JCR Pharmaceuticals. “The agreement is another testament of the versatile applicability of the J-Brain Cargo^® Technology to different modalities and of JCR being a partner of choice for the development of biotherapeutics to support targeted delivery to certain tissues or organs.”

J-Brain Cargo^® technology is JCR’s proprietary drug delivery system that efficiently delivers drugs to target tissues, including the central nervous system, through receptor-mediated transcytosis. It is applicable to various modalities including enzymes, oligonucleotides, lipid nanoparticles, gene and cell therapy, peptides, decoy receptors and antibodies.

There is minor impact on JCR’s consolidated business results for this fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024 related to the matter.