CMIC executives visit Korea... Strategic investment review, working team composition agreement
Addition of NEXEL's toxicity·efficacy evaluation business to CMIC's existing business
Started selling NEXEL hiPSC-derived cell products in Japan by utilizing the CMIC sales network

 

[E-Daily Reporter Kim Sae-mi] NEXEL announced on the 13th that it held a meeting for business cooperation with CMIC Holdings Co., Ltd., the largest clinical trial organization (CRO) in Japan, on the 9th.

 

From left in the front row, UTC Japan Representative Jong-hyun Sung, CMIC Representative Akihisa Mitake, Chairman Kazuo Nakamura, CEO of CMIC Holdings, NEXEL CEO Han Chung-seong, and NEXEL Executive Director Dong-hoon Woo.
Back row, from left, Kim Jin-hee, UTC Korea team leader, Kim Seung-yong, UTC Korea director, Sim Hyung-wook, NEXEL director, Kim Jin-young, NEXEL general manager (Picture=NEXEL)

 

Discussions on a strategic alliance with CMIC began at the end of last year through the arrangement of UTC Investment. Afterwards, the CMIC executives, including the CEO, visited Korea and the meeting took place.

As a result of this meeting, CMIC reviewed strategic investment in NEXEL and agreed on the formation of a working team for information exchange and cooperation on human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) and business launch. Through this, the toxicity and efficacy evaluation business using NEXEL's hiPSC-derived 2D and organoids will be added to CMIC's existing business. In addition, it will start selling NEXEL's hiPSC-derived somatic cell products in Japan by utilizing CMIC's sales network. Joint R&D is also promoted, such as disease modeling using NEXEL's hiPSC technology and contract development & manufacturing organization (CDMO) and sharing experiences of and CMIC's non-clinical animal test measurement and evaluation.

 

Separately, the two companies decided to mutually hold a symposium in both Korea and Japan in which experts in toxicity and efficacy evaluation related to the project will participate. It was decided to open in Japan first in the second half of this year.

CMIC is Japan's largest CRO company with sales exceeding 1 trillion won last year. It operates CDMO, Contracts Sales Organization (CSO), Site Mangament Oragnization (SMO), and healthcare business, and has about 8,000 employees.

Kazuo Nakamura, CEO of CMIC, said, "In the meantime, many hiPSC companies have been established in Japan, but they have not achieved great success.", "NEXEL's commercialization strategy is a very well-thought-out plan, and it is a great achievement to be involved in the formulation of the revised in vitro cardiac safety evaluation test method," he said.

 

Han Chung-seong, CEO of NEXEL, said, "It is encouraging that NEXEL's technology and business strategy have been recognized by Chairman Kazuo Nakamura, who can be said to be a pioneer in Japanese CROs.", "We want to create a successful in vitro toxicity/efficacy evaluation model in Asia through active collaboration with CMIC,” he emphasized.

NEXEL plans to undergo a technical evaluation in the third quarter of this year with the goal of listing on the KOSDAQ in the first half of next year and submit a request for a preliminary review for listing on the KOSDAQ within the year.