TOKYO, March 23, 2022 — Ube Industries, Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ube Industries"; Headquarters: Yamaguchi Prefecture; President: Masato Izumihara) is pleased to announce that it has signed a license agreement with Kirilys Therapeutics, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Kirilys"; Headquarters: San Francisco, California, U.S.; Executive Chairman: BT Slingsby), a company founded by venture capital firm Catalys Pacific, to grant an exclusive worldwide license to Kirilys for the CDK7 inhibitor, KRLS-017, discovered by Ube Industries.
KRLS-017 is a reversible small molecule inhibitor of Cyclin Dependent Kinase 7 (CDK7). CDK7 has been implicated as a key regulator of both transcriptional addiction and cell cycle dysregulation in tumors and therefore represents an attractive target for therapeutic intervention across a broad range of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.
In preclinical studies, KRLS-017 demonstrated best-in-class potency, selectivity, and anti-tumor efficacy along with very favorable properties for an oral drug and thus is expected to make a great contribution for the treatment of diseases with high unmet medical needs as an antitumor drug.
Under this license, Kirilys acquires the rights to the future development, manufacture, and marketing of KRLS-017.
Yoichi Funayama, Executive Officer and General Manager of the Pharmaceutical Business Division of Ube Industries, said, "We are working on drug discovery every day to provide more options for the treatment of diseases with high unmet medical needs. One of the fields with high unmet medical needs is that of antitumor drugs, and we have high hopes that KRLS-017 can contribute as one of the new treatment options in this area. We believe that the involvement of Kirilys, founded by members with a high level of expertise and abundant experience in antitumor drug development, in the development of KRLS-017 will further raise the possibility to achieve our purpose.”
BT Slingsby, Executive Chairman of Kirilys and Managing Partner of Catalys Pacific said, "We founded Kirilys to promote the development of therapeutics that combine innovative science in precision oncology with excellent drug discovery from Japan. KRLS-017 holds significant potential for worldwide patients with cancers who have limited treatment options. We look forward to developing KRLS-017 with the well experienced Kirilys team together.
Ube Industries is a chemistry-focused company that is also engaged in the construction materials and machinery businesses. In its pharmaceutical business, Ube Industries aims to contribute to better health for everyone with community-based manufacturing of drugs using innovative technologies. Going forward, Ube Industries will continue creating promising new compounds for new medicines with a dual approach of pursuing drug discovery through internal and joint research and development projects, and manufacturing and supply of APIs and intermediates. http://www.ube.co.jp
*: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient
Kirilys is a precision oncology medicine company pioneering the development of novel therapies. Kirilys is addressing the significant unmet need for novel prevision oncology therapies for patients with cancers who have limited treatment options. Founded as a multi-asset oncology medicine company, its lead asset is KRLS-017, a novel CDK7 inhibitor, licensed from Ube Industries. http://www.kirilys.com
Catalys Pacific is an independent venture capital firm focusing on investments in life sciences innovation. The firm’s mission is to provide healthcare solutions for patients worldwide through the creation of and investment in bioventure companies. Catalys Pacific is led by a global team versed in working closely with its partners in academia, biotech, venture capital and the pharmaceutical industry in Japan and worldwide. The firm maintains offices in Tokyo and Kanagawa (Shonan Health Innovation Park), Japan and in San Francisco, California. https://catalyspacific.com
