Inabata & Co., Ltd. (President: Katsutaro Inabata, Headquarters: Osaka-shi, Osaka, hereinafter "Inabata") and Luxna Biotech Co., Ltd. (President＆CEO: Hideaki Sato, Headquarters: Suita-shi, Osaka, Japan, hereinafter “Luxna”) today announce that the parties have entered into a license agreement to grant a license to Inabata for the manufacture and sale of modified nucleic acid GuNA™ amidite. This alliance is positioned as a strategic partnership that leverages the strengths of both companies: Inabata 's global sales network for chemicals, its ability to develop new sales channels, and Luxna’s innovative modified nucleic acid technology.

GuNA™ is one of the artificial bridged types of modified nucleic acids using Luxna’s modified nucleic acid technologies (Luxna XNAs technology) and is used as a raw material for nucleic acid therapeutics. Compared to conventional modified nucleic acids, it is expected to improve affinity with target RNA and reduce neurotoxicity.

Inabata will pay Luxna an undisclosed upfront payment upon the execution of the License Agreement.
Additionally, Inabata will pay Luxna milestone payments and royalties based on the future production and sales of GuNA™ by Inabata.
Inabata will not develop nucleic acid therapeutics using the licensed product and will focus on the manufacturing and supplying of amidites as raw materials.

Inabata has identified the life sciences and healthcare field as one of the key areas in our mid-term management plan. By expanding sales of GuNA™, Inabata will contribute to the future growth of the nucleic acid therapeutics market and the advancement of research and development.

About Luxna XNAs Technology
Luxna XNAs Technology collectively means an innovative nucleic acid group of AmNA™, scpBNA™, GuNA™, and 5’-CP™ originated in Professor Obika’s laboratory at the Osaka University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bioorganic Chemistry. Luxna XNAs Technology could make available ASOs with high activity and low toxicity by taking advantage of its characteristics of strong binding to mRNA and/or reduced immune response.  

About GuNA™
GuNA™ has a positive charge, and its introduction into antisense nucleic acids can improve its binding affinity to RNA and nuclease resistance, reducing neurotoxicity, reducing immunogenicity, and prolonging the duration of action. We also expect similar effects among antisense nucleic acids, not only for knockdown but also for splicing control applications.

About nucleic acid therapeutics
Nucleic acid therapeutics are chemically synthesized drugs that use nucleotides - the building blocks of DNA and RNA - as their fundamental backbone. Unlike conventional drugs that primarily act on proteins or the pathways that produce them, nucleic acid therapeutics directly target upstream genetic information such as mRNA and non-coding RNA. This enables highly sequence-specific modulation of gene expression and allows access to intracellular targets that have been difficult to reach with traditional pharmaceuticals. Because these molecules are produced through chemical synthesis, candidate compounds can be generated rapidly, supporting their development as a next-generation class of medicines.

About Amidite
Amidite refers to a phosphoramidite-activated nucleoside, which serves as the monomer used in solid-phase synthesis of oligonucleotides. These oligonucleotides function as the active pharmaceutical ingredients in nucleic acid therapeutics.

About LuxnaBiotech
Luxna is a biotech founded in 2017 to develop safer and more effective oligonucleotide therapies (OTs) for practical use with the drug discovery platform, called LuxiAP™, based on modified nucleic acids originated in Professor Obika’s laboratory at Osaka University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Its purpose is to bring OTs to patients with difficult-to-treat diseases. With antisense nucleic acids as our primary development focus, Luxna actively pursues both collaborative development with several pharmaceutical companies and development on our own.
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About Inabata & Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1890, Inabata & Co., Ltd. is a global chemical trading company with approximately 70 locations in 19 countries. The company operates across four core business segments: Information & Electronics, Chemicals, Life Industry, and Plastics.
Within the Life Sciences Division of the Life Industry segment, Inabata provides end to end solutions tailored to customer needs. In addition to having active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and intermediate manufacturing facilities in France, Inabata provides comprehensive solutions tailored to our customers' needs. These include sourcing pharmaceutical raw materials domestically and internationally, CDMO management, and logistics support for overseas distribution. Recently, Inabata has strengthened our handling of products related to new modalities such as regenerative medicine and nucleic acid therapeutics. By contributing to the revitalization of the pharmaceutical market and the promotion of research and development, Inabata aims to help realize healthy and comfortable lives.
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For inquiries, please contact:
Inabata & Co., Ltd.
luxnabiotech@inabata.com
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Luxna Biotech Co., Ltd.
info@luxnabiotech.co.jp
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