Takara Bio Inc. (hereinafter, the “Company”) hereby announces that it is currently in discussions with Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Sumitomo Chemical”) and Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Sumitomo Pharma”) regarding the succession of the Company’s GMP-compliant cell processing contract manufacturing business (hereinafter, the “Business”), including its employees engaged in Business therein, to S-RACMO Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “S-RACMO”), a joint venture established by Sumitomo Chemical and Sumitomo Pharma. The parties are currently in detailed discussions regarding the succession.
In addition, the Company is also in discussions with the Sumitomo Chemical Group regarding the succession of TBI-1301, the Company’s proprietary gene therapy clinical development project.
The Sumitomo Chemical Group operates regenerative medicine / cell therapy business through its affiliated companies, and S-RACMO is engaged in a CDMO business in this field. Through the succession of the Company’s GMP-compliant cell processing contract manufacturing business platform, S-RACMO is expected to further expand its CDMO operations.
Meanwhile, the Company aims to enhance its revenue structure by optimizing its CDMO business portfolio and focusing its GMP-compliant manufacturing capabilities on key modalities, including nucleic acids/plasmids, proteins/enzymes, and viral vectors and others.
Going forward, the Company, Sumitomo Chemical and Sumitomo Pharma will continue discussions and evaluations regarding specific terms and conditions, with the aim of executing a basic agreement concerning the succession of the Business by around July 2026.
