US-based biotech company VLP Therapeutics, Inc. (VLPT) and its Tokyo-based group company VLP Therapeutics Japan, Inc. (VLPT Japan) together announced on November 8 the third closing of its financing round, which secured investments from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, a new investor headquartered in Tokyo, and Mr. Robert G. Hisaoka, an existing investor in the US.
With this funding the VLPT group plans to: 1) bolster its vaccine research and development underway in the US for cancer treatment and infectious disease prevention, such as malaria and dengue; and 2) establish a manufacturing facility, which is expected to begin operation in 2024–2025 and will enable VLPT Japan to produce investigational vaccines in-house in Fukuoka, Japan.
“Vaccines without borders — it has been the vision at its core since VLPT’s inception and remains so today, embraced by every single one of us at VLPT US and Japan,” says Dr. Wataru Akahata, CEO of both companies. “Our platform technologies — self-amplifying “replicon” RNA and virus-like particle (VLP) applications — are looking increasingly promising, and we are beginning to see results in scientific publications and clinical trials. Any of this wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for these investors and supporters who believe in us. We will continue to commit to making vaccines that are safe to use, highly effective, and long-lasting and delivering those to as many people worldwide as we can at the earliest date possible.”
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About VLP Therapeutics: VLP Therapeutics, Inc. (VLPT), co-founded in 2013 by Drs. Wataru Akahata, Ryuji Ueno, and Sachiko Kuno, is a Maryland, US-based biotech company with a mission to address unmet medical needs worldwide and expand the frontiers of vaccine treatment. VLPT is currently engaged in research and development of a cancer treatment vaccine as well as prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases including malaria and dengue.
About VLP Therapeutics Japan: VLP Therapeutics Japan, Inc. (VLPT Japan), founded in 2020 by Dr. Wataru Akahata originally as a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based VLP Therapeutics, Inc., is a Tokyo-based biotech company. VLPT Japan is currently engaged in research and development of prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases, including COVID-19, influenza, and dengue. The COVID-19 project is funded by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.