PeptiDream Inc., a Tokyo-based biopharmaceutical company (“PeptiDream”)(TOKYO:4587) and Modulus Discovery Inc., a Tokyo-based drug discovery company (“Modulus”), jointly announced today that they have entered into a strategic drug discovery collaboration covering multiple discovery programs.

This strategic collaboration aims to leverage the expertise of both companies to jointly discover and develop small molecule clinical candidates. PeptiDream will utilize its proprietary PDPS technology to identify constrained peptide hit candidates against high-value targets and attain crystal structure information of candidate:target complexes, from which Modulus will utilize its computational chemistry technology and expertise to design small molecule candidates with similar functionality. Under this Agreement, the companies will jointly share the costs of the discovery and development programs, and will co-own any resulting products.

PeptiDream acquired Pharma Design Inc., in June 2015, adding strong biomodelling, in silico design, and bioinformatic capabilities and expertise, and in February 2016, initiated a strategic collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to attain high-resolution crystal structures of candidate:target complexes, a collaboration that was further expanded in June 2017. These capabilities allow PeptiDream to more quickly and efficiently optimize hit candidates identified from the PDPS technology into (1) peptide therapeutics and/or (2) peptide drug conjugate (PDC) drugs. In parallel, PeptiDream has also been expanding its capabilities and expertise in turning PDPS-identified hit candidates into (3) small molecule therapeutics, and this partnership should significantly accelerate those efforts.

Modulus is an innovative drug discovery company aiming to create small molecule clinical candidates quickly and efficiently through the use of its cutting-edge computational chemistry technology expertise. The international team at Modulus is comprised of drug design and disease biology experts with previous R&D experience at global pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms as well as the leading computational drug discovery technology developer, Schrödinger, Inc.

This strategic collaboration is part of PeptiDream’s strategic partnership/internal drug development pipeline business stream (currently 2 companies), in addition to our more conventional drug discovery & development collaboration business stream (currently 17 big pharma partners) and our PDPS technology license business stream (currently 5 companies). PeptiDream expects to continue to form strategic partnerships with select technology-leading bioventures, both in Japan and abroad, to accelerate and expand our clinical pipeline of best-in-class and first-in-class medicines.

[Comment from Patrick Reid SVP and Keiichi Masuya VP of PeptiDream Inc]

“Our acquisition of Pharma Design and our strategic partnership with JAXA have greatly expanded and accelerated our ability to turn hit candidates arising from our PDPS technology into both peptide and PDC therapeutics.  This tie-up with Modulus, an exciting innovative world-class bioventure, will allow us to join the power of our PDPS hit finding capability against difficult to drug targets with the latest in computational drug design technology and expertise to develop truly novel small molecule clinical candidates that should create significant value for both patients and society worldwide.”

[Comment from S. Roy Kimura, Cofounder & CEO of Modulus Discovery Inc]

“Modulus is very excited to work with the world leader in peptide therapeutics discovery. The potent combination of PeptiDream’s proven platform and our computational drug design expertise will enable us to rapidly de-risk high value targets and accelerate the discovery of novel small molecule therapeutic candidates. This collaboration brings us a step closer to enabling our mission to efficiently discover new medicines that meet high or unmet medical needs worldwide.”

<About PeptiDream Inc.>

PeptiDream Inc. is a public (Tokyo Stock Exchange 1st Section 4587) biopharmaceutical company founded in 2006 employing our proprietary Peptide Discovery Platform System (PDPS), a state-of-the-art highly versatile discovery platform which enables the production of highly diverse (trillions) non-standard peptide libraries with high efficiency, for the identification of highly potent and selective hit candidates, which then can be developed into peptide-based or small molecule-based therapeutics. PeptiDream aspires to be a world leader in drug discovery and development to address unmet medical needs and improve the quality of life of patients worldwide. For further information, please visit www.peptidream.com

<About Modulus Discovery, Inc.>

Modulus Discovery is a Tokyo-based preclinical stage drug discovery company focused on rapid design and generation of small molecule clinical candidates for a range of high-value disease targets through the use of its cutting-edge computational chemistry technology expertise. The international team at Modulus is comprised of drug design and disease biology experts with previous R&D experience at global pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms as well as the leading computational drug discovery technology developer, Schrodinger, Inc.

Enquiries:

PeptiDream Inc.                    

Patrick C Reid  +81-3-5790-9991 (Tokyo)

EMAIL: p-reid@peptidream.com

Modulus Discovery Inc.

+81-3-6868-4547(Tokyo)

EMAIL: info@modulus.jp