Participated · Series B · Feb 2026

Metagen Therapeutics is a Japanese university-spinout (Juntendo, Keio, Tokyo Tech) founded in 2020 that leverages microbiome science to create both drug products and FMT-based medical services. Its lead oral FMT candidate, MGT-006, targets ulcerative colitis and is scheduled to enter a Japan-U.S. Phase 1/2 international trial between April and June 2026. Clinically, the company has already demonstrated a 45.9 % remission-induction rate with its antibiotic-assisted FMT procedure in an advanced medical B program, with no serious adverse events observed. Additional clinical studies are under way for gastrointestinal cancers (MGT-007) and Parkinson’s disease (MGT-008). An in-house “donor stool bank” in Yamagata has collected more than 800 donations, supporting both clinical trials and eventual commercial supply. The firm also promotes social adoption of stool donation (“献便”) to secure a stable supply chain for its therapies. Cumulatively, the company has raised ¥5.46 billion, providing runway for pipeline advancement, supply-chain optimization, head-count growth and IPO preparation.

Participated · Series C · Jun 2021

Heartseed develops HS-001, an allogeneic iPSC-derived, highly purified ventricular cardiomyocyte spheroid therapy intended to remuscularize the myocardium and promote neovascularization. The company completed first human dosing of HS-001 in December 2022 and reports initial safety and early signs of efficacy. Heartseed plans to use new funds to complete its Phase 1/2 LAPiS study in Japan and to build an organization for product launch. It is also examining less invasive delivery, such as transendocardial catheter injection, for global development by Novo Nordisk. Since its founding in 2015, Heartseed has raised a total of 10.2 billion JPY (approx. $74 million). The LAPiS study is a 52-week, open-label, dose-escalation Phase 1/2 trial in patients with advanced ischemic heart failure with primary safety assessment at 26 weeks and secondary endpoints including LVEF and myocardial wall motion. Heartseed raised 4 billion yen (approx. $37M) in a Series C financing. The company will use the funds to accelerate initiation of a global clinical trial of HS-001 for heart failure, confirm proof of concept in the Phase 1/2 LAPiS study in Japan, and examine less invasive administration such as transendocardial injection via catheter. HS-001 is an allogeneic iPSC-derived, highly purified ventricular cardiomyocyte spheroid designed to improve retention rate and viability by forming micro-tissue-like spheroids. The spheroids are transplanted using a special administration needle (SEEDPLANTER®) and guide adapter developed for safe and efficient delivery into the myocardial layer. The round brought Heartseed’s total financial backing to 8.2 billion yen (approx. $75M) since its foundation in 2015. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Professor Keiichi Fukuda and is based in Tokyo, Japan. Heartseed is a Tokyo-based biotechnology company originating from Keio University that is developing HS-001, an allogeneic iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte spheroid therapy for severe heart failure. The company is preparing to initiate clinical trials for HS-001 and is arranging clinical-trial supply logistics. In advance of the trial, Heartseed will outsource manufacturing to Nikon CeLL innovation Co., Ltd. and is discussing transport of the cardiomyocyte spheroids with MEDIPAL. MEDIPAL and its wholly owned subsidiary SPLine will collaborate with Heartseed on logistics and will begin research on transport solutions for the therapy. MEDIPAL will also acquire an equity stake in Heartseed as part of the capital and business alliance. MEDIPAL brings a distribution system compliant with Japanese GDP guidelines and an ultra-low temperature transport system used for regenerative medicine products. Heartseed develops iPSC-derived ventricular-specific cardiomyocytes as a regenerative medicine approach for heart failure. Its lead program, HS-001, is intended to engraft in patients' hearts long-term and is positioned as a potential curative therapy for severe HFrEF. The company says it has solved key technical challenges including ventricular-specific cardiomyocyte differentiation, purification, large-scale manufacturing and efficient cell delivery. Heartseed planned to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for HS-001 in late 2020 and is supporting an investigator-initiated trial for dilated cardiomyopathy expected in the first half of 2020. Financially, Heartseed announced a ¥2.8 billion (approx. $26M) Series B and reports total financial backing of ¥3.8 billion (approx. $35M).

Participated · Series D · May 2019

Promethera develops cell-based therapies and complementary biologics to reduce the need for liver transplantation, with lead programs derived from its patented HepaStem platform. Its lead product candidate, HepaStem, consists of expanded liver stem cells manufactured under cGMP and is being evaluated in a phase 2a trial in ACLF with safety and efficacy results presented at EASL 2019. The company is preparing to initiate a late-stage clinical trial in NASH, planned to start in Europe and expand to the US and Asia. Promethera also advances H2Stem and antibody programs such as the anti-TNF-R1 antibody Atrosimab to diversify its pipeline. The company operates internationally with facilities in Mont-Saint-Guibert (Belgium), Durham (NC, USA), Tokyo (Japan) and Basel (Switzerland). The organization is scaling manufacturing and advancing preclinical work while progressing multiple clinical programs. Promethera Biosciences is a global innovator in cell-based medicines focused on severe liver diseases. Its lead clinical program is derived from the company’s patented HepaStem cell technology platform, which the company says has immune-modulatory and anti-fibrotic properties. In addition to cell-based therapies, Promethera develops antibody technologies to complement and diversify its therapeutic options. The company operates R&D and GMP facilities in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, and Durham, North Carolina, USA. It recently acquired Baliopharm AG, adding an antibody candidate that specifically binds TNF-R1 to its pipeline. Promethera plans to use new funding to accelerate and broaden clinical development in indications with significant unmet need, including acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), NASH and fibrosis. Promethera Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on cell therapy and regenerative medicine for inborn and acquired liver diseases. It develops products using allogeneic progenitor cells, stem cells and mature hepatocytes harvested from non-transplantable healthy human livers (HHALPC, HHLivC) and has three cell products: HepaStem, H2Stem, and Heparesc. The pipeline targets both orphan indications (urea cycle disorders, α1‑antitrypsin deficiency, hemophilia) and larger indications such as acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), fibrosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Promethera plans to expand its development focus to these larger indications and accelerate clinical development toward the clinic. Headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, Promethera was founded in 2009 as a spin-off of Université catholique de Louvain and maintains a U.S. operation with a GMP manufacturing facility in Durham, North Carolina. The company raised EUR 10 million in a Series C-extension to fund these initiatives and support expansion into Asian markets. Promethera Biosciences develops Promethera® HepaStem, a cell-based therapy for in-born errors of metabolism and acquired liver diseases, and Promethera® H2Screen and H3Screen, non-therapeutic in vitro products based on a patented liver progenitor cell type. The company was founded in 2009 as a spin-off of the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and is led by CEO Eric Halioua. It is clinical-stage and intends to use recent funding to advance the clinical development of HepaStem and a collaborative program with EMD-Millipore. The platform is based on cells isolated from healthy adult human livers. Promethera has 44 employees. Promethera Biosciences develops and commercializes allogeneic progenitor-cell products to treat liver diseases and offers liver cell models for the pharmaceutical industry. Its lead products include Promethera® HepaStem, a cell therapy for severe liver diseases in children and adults, and Promethera® HepaScreen, a cell model that mimics human liver metabolism and detoxification for drug testing. The company was founded in 2009 as a spin-off of the Université Catholique de Louvain and is led by CEO Eric Halioua. Promethera is based in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium and currently employs 40 people. In March 2012 it raised €23.6m in a Series B composed of a €17m capital increase and a €6.6m loan from the Walloon Region. New strategic and financial backers in the round include Boehringer Ingelheim, Shire, Mitsui Global Investment, ATMI and SambrInvest, joining earlier Series A investors.