Metcela adds Dr. Atsushi Usami and Dr. Hiroaki Kobayashi to Board along with raising $12.7m Series B financing led by Edge Capital Partners

– JAPAN, Kanagawa –  Metcela Inc., a clinical-stage biotech startup specializing in fibroblast-based cell therapy, announced the closing of its 1.3 billion yen ($12.7m) Series B round led by The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners, with participation from new and existing investors including Alfresa Corporation, The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, MAKOTO Capita, and KSP Inc.

Dr. Atsushi Usami, Ph.D., and Dr. Hiroaki Kobayashi, M.D., MBA. will be joining the Board of Directors complementing the already strong team.

  • Dr.Usami is the director and partner at UTEC, and he has vast experience supporting life science startups in Japan to achieve global success.
  • Dr. Kobayashi, former emergency medicine and intensive care physician brings complementary expertise through various executive positions in the industry.

Japan Lifeline Co., Ltd., Sony Innovation Fund, and Tsukuba Exceed Fund also participated early in the Series B round.

Metcela is a clinical-stage Kanagawa-based biotech company bringing cell-based therapies to heart failure patients. Metcela’s lead asset, MTC001 is a cell therapy based on VCAM-1-positive Cardiac Fibroblast that re-established a favorable microenvironment and repaired damaged heart tissues in preclinical studies. This new funding round enables the company to initiate Phase I clinical trials in Japan. MTC001 consists of a simple hospital-to-manufacturing site-to-hospital workflow. VCF is collected from a cardiac biopsy in a minimally invasive manner and has significant manufacturing and safety advantages over alternative approaches. This new funding marks a significant milestone in Metcela’s growth as the company while the world-class team focuses on expanding its portfolio through streamlining the manufacturing process, expansion to other indications with high unmet medical needs, and strategic alliances.

Quote from Dr.Atsushi Usami, Partner at UTEC and Metcela board member: “We are excited to support Metcela with this investment at such a momentous time. Metcela’s approach to both science and the business closely aligns with our investment strategy where we value innovative science and technology, a strong team, and global market and global issues. This marks the largest initial investment transaction in the history of UTEC. We particularly were impressed with their speed of development of their lead product of VCF, which was just a result of an academic project 5 years ago. We look forward to working closely with the Metcela team.”

A quote from Dr.Hiroaki Kobayashi, Principal at UTEC and Metcela board member said: “As a physician, I first handedly saw the impact that myocardial infarction and heart failure has on patients, their families, and the society. Though heart failure affects a huge number of patients globally, there are very-little-to-no fundamental therapeutic options available. We believe we invested at a crucial growth stage as Metcela is preparing to initiate their first-in-patient trial in early 2021, which will be a monumental step in bringing the product to the global market. We look forward to working with and supporting the Metcela team.”

About Metcela Inc.

Metcela Inc., established in 2016, is a clinical-stage biotechnology startup pioneering the research and development of fibroblast-based therapy for chronic diseases that currently have limited therapeutic options. MTC001 is a combination product of autologous cardiac cells (VCAM-1-positive Cardiac Fibroblast, VCF) and a novel catheter delivery system targeting chronic heart failure patients. MTC001 offers two major advantages over other cell therapies: (1) the cell is autologous (patient-derived) and homologous (cardiac-derived), which is most suitable for a highly immunogenic organ like the heart, and (2) the minimally invasive catheter is equipped with a highly functional injection needle specifically designed for this therapy to achieve reliable and safe administration of the cells.

For more information: https://www.metcela.com/

- DisclaimerNews, data, and statements included in this release are intended exclusively for general information purposes. Talent4Boards does not guarantee that news is accurate or about the correct person and accepts neither liability for the consequences of the reader’s reliance, nor responsibility for the accuracy of the information. Nothing in this release should be considered for decisions about referred securities. Products and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.