JSR Corporation (CEO and President: Eric Johnson; Minato-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter "JSR") and Illumi-Medical Corporation (CEO and President: Toshihiko Tsukamoto; Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Aichi; hereinafter "Illumi-Medical") have entered into a joint research agreement to establish a new therapeutic and diagnostic technology by combining JSR's antibody-nano magnetic particle composite^※1 and Illumi-Medical's intravascular light irradiation technology ET-BLIT® . (JSR) and ET-BLIT®^※2 , an intravascular light irradiation technology developed by Illumi-Medical, have entered into a joint research agreement to establish a new treatment and diagnostic technology.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two parties will conduct joint research to establish innovative photodiagnostic and phototherapeutic technologies utilizing antibody-nanomagnetic particle composites and to realize their early clinical application. Illumi-Medical will also retain the right to license the results of the joint research to other companies in the future.

JSR is a company that focuses on the life science field, including drug discovery support, and has been manufacturing products utilizing particle composite technology as typified by in vitro diagnostics and bioprocess materials. We have further developed this core technology to nano-size and have been conducting research on antibody-nanomagnetic particle composites, and have found that antibody-nanomagnetic particle composites bind specifically to antigens expressed on tumor cells and accumulate on tumors, and that photo-thermal effects^※3 and ferotosis^※4 have remarkable anti-tumor effects by irradiating light to the accumulated sites. We have found that the light irradiation to the site of accumulation has a remarkable anti-tumor effect by photothermal action ・Pherotosis etc.

Illumi-Medical is promoting the development of ET-BLIT® (a platform technology for light irradiation of extravascular tissue from within blood vessels), and is conducting joint research and joint development with numerous business companies and academia to confirm the efficacy of intravascular light irradiation in various animal experiments and to deepen the technology of the ET-BLIT platform. ET-BLIT® is expected to be a technology that maximizes the potential of phototherapeutic agents by enabling non-invasive phototherapy to deep tissues in the body, since the device can be delivered and irradiated close to the affected area, such as tumors, using blood vessels running throughout the human body. We believe that this technology will lead to the expansion of the phototherapy market.

The two parties have decided to embark on this joint research because they believe that the potential of the antibody-nanomagnetic particle composite and ET-BLIT® can be maximized by combining the antibody-nanomagnetic particle composite.

1 Antibody-nanomagnetic particle complex: A complex in which an antibody and nanomagnetic particles are chemically immobilized.

2 ET-BLIT® : Endovascular Therapy- based Light Illumination Technology, an intravascular light irradiation technology for non-invasive treatment of myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction using a catheter, etc.

3 Photothermal action: Cancer cells are less sensitive to heat than normal cells. When light is irradiated on the antibody-nanomagnetic particle complex that has been accumulated on cancer cells, the complex generates heat and is expected to kill the cancer cells. This is called photothermal action.

4 Ferotosis: Cell death caused by peroxidation of phospholipids in the cell membrane. It is said that cancers resistant to existing anti-cancer drugs are highly susceptible to ferotosis, and it is expected to become a new cancer treatment strategy in recent years.

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JSR Corporation

JSR Corporation is developing its business globally on the strength of its technological capabilities, focusing on the digital solutions business, including semiconductor materials, and the life sciences business, while promoting innovation to provide value to leading industries around the world and exploring next-generation businesses to meet society's challenges.

https://www.jsr.co.jp/ https://www.jsrlifesciences.com/ja/

Illumi Medical, Inc.

Illumimedical Corporation is a Nagoya University start-up established in February 2023 that develops intravascular light irradiation systems and devices. Currently, the company has a number of development pipelines while establishing and deepening the ET-BLIT® technology platform. In addition to cancer treatment, ET-BLIT® is also working toward applications in neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and the field of regenerative medicine, and completed a seed round of funding in March 2024.

https://illumimedical.com/

Contact information.

Kitamura / Wang, Public Relations Department, JSR Corporation

Phone: 03-6218-3517

Email: jsr_koho@jsr.co.jp

Illumi Medical Corporation

Email: info@illumimedical.com