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Japan's INCJ joins acquisition of US biopharma firm

  • Andrew Woodman
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The government-backed Innovation Network corporation of Japan (INCJ), life sciences company JSR Corporation, and pharmaceutical research firm CMIC Holdings have together purchased US-based KBI BioPharma for an undisclosed sum.

Set up in 1996, KBI is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), which means it offers clients comprehensive services from drug development through to manufacturing. To date, the company claims to have helped advance drug development programs for over 200 clients.

According to a release, the acquisition will allow JSR and CMIC to tap the growing demand for biopharmaceuticals suchs a antibodies, growth hormones, and insulin. INCJ, JSR, and CMIC hold stakes 44%, 51%, and 5% respectively.

INCJ says it is looking to drive biopharmaceutical drug discovery within Japan by establishing a value chain from research, development, and manufacturing in the space. The agency was created in 2009 as a public-private partnership to support technology innovation across several industries and has the capacity to invest up to JPY2 trillion.

This is INCJ's second biotech-related investment in a month. It previously said it would invest up to JPY3.3 billion ($27 million) in Quantum Biosystem (QB), a VC-backed Japanese start-up that develops instruments used to automate the DNA sequencing process.

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