Meiji Seika Pharma Partners With MBC BioLabs to Strengthen Global Innovation in Drug Discovery

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Toshiaki Nagasato) today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with MBC BioLabs which is a private organization supporting the development of biotech startup companies in California’s San Francisco Bay Area.

MBC BioLabs provides fully equipped research facilities and a supportive community that help biotech entrepreneurs accelerate from concept to company. By removing the burden of building and maintaining laboratory infrastructure, resident companies can focus early on research and development while efficiently advancing commercialization.

Through this partnership, Meiji Seika Pharma will further advance its open-innovation initiatives and strengthen research and development in its priority therapeutic areas: infectious diseases, hematologic diseases, and immune-inflammatory diseases. By engaging with the entrepreneurs and startup community at MBC BioLabs, the company aims to discover innovative drug discovery seeds and to accelerate external collaborations.

“We aim to energize our drug discovery research by drawing new ideas from global innovation activities and deepening collaboration with innovation hubs in Japan and overseas. Partnering with MBC BioLabs, which has a proven track record of identifying numerous startups and guiding them toward commercialization, represents a major step forward in these efforts,” said Takeshi Naruse, Managing Executive Officer and Head of R&D at Meiji Seika Pharma.

"MBC BioLabs is excited to partner with Meiji Seika Pharma to empower entrepreneurs and help bring Meiji’s innovations to the U.S. biotechnology ecosystem,” said Flavia Nachbar, Director of Alliances at MBC BioLabs. "This collaboration reflects our shared belief that bold science, backed by the right resources and relationships, can transform human health around the world.”

About MBC BioLabs

MBC BioLabs is a premier life science incubator that provides early-stage biotech companies with the resources and support necessary to thrive. Through its network of state-of-the-art laboratories, industry partnerships, and active bioentrepreneur community, MBC BioLabs enables startups to accelerate research and turn groundbreaking ideas into transformative therapies. Since opening in 2013, MBC BioLabs has helped launch and grow over 500 companies. These companies have brought 176 programs to the clinic, produced 17 approved diagnostics, brought 135 products to the market, and raised over $20 billion. More information is available at www.mbcbiolabs.com

About Meiji Seika Pharma

Meiji Seika Pharma, since it launched penicillin in 1946, has been providing efficacious and high-quality pharmaceutical products including therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, therapeutics for central nervous system diseases and generic drugs. To further address unmet medical needs, the company is committed to creating next-generation therapies by focusing its R&D on priority areas—infectious diseases, hematologic diseases, and immune-inflammatory diseases—and actively leveraging open innovation. For more information, please visit www.meiji.com/global/pharmaceuticals.

For further information, please contact:
Tomoaki Yoshikawa, PhD
R&D Strategy, Meiji Seika Pharma Co. Ltd.
E-mail: meiji_partnering@meiji.com