Rakuten Medical, founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Diego, develops photoimmunotherapy using its Alluminox® platform, which combines targeted drug conjugates and light-delivery devices. Its lead asset, ASP-1929 (an antibody-dye conjugate using cetuximab and IRDye® 700DX), is approved in Japan for unresectable locally advanced or recurrent head and neck cancer and is being evaluated outside Japan. ASP-1929 is currently in a global Phase 3 trial in combination with pembrolizumab as a first-line treatment for recurrent head and neck cancer, with the company aiming to generate pivotal data to support a planned BLA submission to the U.S. FDA in 2028. Rakuten Medical is enrolling patients across the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, and Ukraine, with Poland sites expected to activate soon. The company is expanding its pipeline through internal programs and investigator-initiated trials, and plans a Phase 1 study of RM-0256 in Japan expected to begin in Q2 2026 with Japanese government grant support. Rakuten Medical operates offices in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland and India and continues to grow its commercial presence in Japan to support global expansion.

Total raised

$728M

Funding rounds

10

Latest round

Convertible Note

Latest activity

Jan 2026