Cyfuse closes 1.4b yen Series B round

Tokyo, Japan, February 27, 2015 – Cyfuse Biomedical K.K. (hereafter Cyfuse), today announced that it has completed a 1.4 billion yen Series B funding round participated in by 12 investors, including venture capital funds and corporate investors. This brings the total investment in Cyfuse to 1.98 billion yen, including capital reserve. With this funding, Cyfuse will begin overseas sales of its bio 3D printer for research applications and also accelerate the development of its 3D tissue engineering technology for regenerative medicine applications.

Company overview

Cyfuse is a regenerative medicine startup founded in 2010 to develop its proprietary technology to assemble living cells in three dimensions. The technology is based on the research results of Professor Koichi Nakayama of Saga University during his time at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Kyushu University. Cyfuse has been developing this technology until now with the support of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). In 2010, Cyfuse began working with Shibuya Kogyo Co., Ltd. to jointly develop a bio 3D printer called “Regenova” that automatically assembles cellular aggregates. Shipment of Regenova to Japanese universities began in 2013. Cyfuse’s main business activities include the sales of Regenova bio 3D printers, research and development of 3D tissue products, and subcontract manufacturing of 3D tissue products. Cyfuse is based in Tokyo and headed by President and CEO Koji Kuchiishi.



Technology overview

The company’s technology uses a fine needle array to skewer cellular aggregates (0.5mm diameter), which are then stacked three dimensionally. Once the cellular aggregates are fused together, the needles are removed, resulting in elastic tissue based on the original cells and the collagen within. The Regenova bio 3D printer can automatically create a 3D cellular structure by inputting 3D data and cellular aggregate material. The resulting cellular structure spends several days or weeks maturing in a customized bioreactor, and comes to express its target strength and function. This technology can be used with various cell types, and is able to produce thicker and more elastic tissue than was conventionally possible, so it is expected to bring breakthroughs in drug discovery research and regenerative medicine in a wide range of therapeutic areas.



Future business development

With this round of funding, Cyfuse plans to increase its headcount and launch the overseas sales of the Regenova bio 3D printer and expand research seeds though collaboration with the academic community. In addition, Cyfuse will establish a cell processing facility for clinical use and apply its platform technology and expand its use by putting in place a system to subcontract manufacturing of the tissue from university hospitals and other institutions.



Series B investors (alphabetical order)

CYBERDYNE Inc.
Daiwa Corporate Investment Co., Ltd.
DBJ Capital Co., Ltd.
JAFCO Co., Ltd.
The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
JT financial service Co., Ltd.
M3, Inc.
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd.
Nippon Venture Capital Co., Ltd. (NVCC)
NISSAY CAPITAL CO.,LTD (NCC)
Shibuya Kogyo Co., Ltd.
The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Co., Ltd. (UTEC)

Contact
Mr. Hitoshi Torii, Member of Board of Directors, Director of Finance and Operations
Cyfuse Biomedical K.K.
University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Plaza
7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Tel: +81-3-4455-7872
Email: info.jp@cyfusebm.com

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