Veneno Technologies, a Novel DRP Drug Discovery Company, Raises $2Million (¥200M Yen) in Seed Funding Round

TSUKUBA CITY, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, Jan. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Veneno Technologies Co. Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has completed fundraising of 200 million yen through a third-party allocation of new shares to SBI Investment Co., Ltd., Tsukuba Institute of Research, Ltd., and SBI regional activation support Co., Ltd.

The funds raised will be used to strengthen the recruitment and organizational structure, to further develop the Company's proprietary peptide drug discovery platform technology, and invest in the research and development of the Company's own drug discovery pipeline using DRP functional peptides as basic molecules to further promote DRP drug discovery.

Objective of the Fund Procurement
Veneno Suite™ is the Company's proprietary integrated DRP drug discovery technology.
The Veneno Suite™ consists of a large gene library that is created by artificially accelerating the evolution of natural DRPs (Disulfide Rich Peptides) using them as templates, a screening system that enables the search for target DRPs from the library in a fast and efficient manner, and technology that enables the efficient production of various DRPs in a short period of time. With this funding, we will further refine these technologies and accelerate DRP drug discovery (pharmaceuticals, research reagents, agrochemicals, biostimulants, and various other "drugs"). 

Our mission is to contribute to the advancement of medicine by providing new drugs for targets such as membrane proteins that have been difficult to discover, and for intractable diseases related to these targets. In order to fulfill this mission, we will strengthen the following points through this fundraising.

• Appointment of high-level researchers and opening of new laboratories to advance DRP drug discovery.
• Expansion of the DRP focused library (DRP Space™).
• Strengthen and expand the pipeline of the DRP rapid search system (PERISS™) (promote joint research).
• Development of DRP manufacturing technology (Super Secrete™) including establishment of high-efficiency, low-volume, high-mix manufacturing technology.
• This funding will enable us to further refine our proprietary large-scale library, high-speed screening technology, and high-efficiency DRP manufacturing technology to accelerate our goal of DRP drug discovery.
• We expect that we will be able to take a concrete step toward the establishment of a new paradigm using DRP as a new drug discovery platform molecule following antibody drugs.

Investor Comments

Mr. Makoto Hasegawa, Manager, Investment Division, SBI Investment Co. noted, "Veneno Technologies has developed an innovative technology to turn functional peptides, called DRPs, into pharmaceuticals. We have decided to invest in Veneno Technologies because we see the potential in their technology and want to take on the challenge of developing new modalities together. We hope that our technology will lead to the development of many innovative new drugs in the future."

Mr. Masato Suzuki, Senior Researcher, Consulting Department, Tsukuba Research Institute, Inc. said, "Veneno Technologies is a drug discovery venture that uses this technology to develop drugs that target ion channels, which remain untapped as drug targets."

About Veneno Technologies, Inc.
Veneno Technologies was established to accelerate the research and development of DRP functional peptides and to contribute to advanced and sustainable medicine and society. The company was established to accelerate the research and development of DRP functional peptides and to contribute to advanced and sustainable medicine and society.

By integrating innovative DRP discovery technologies that have been researched for many years at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and DRP manufacturing technologies that are currently being researched and developed, we will lead the research and development of various DRP drug discovery technologies such as new drugs, research reagents, agrochemicals and biostimulants.

Veneno Technologies, Inc. Veneno Technologies has entered into a patent license agreement with AIST under AIST's technology transfer program. Veneno Technologies has been granted a patent license agreement and the title of AIST Technology Transfer Venture by AIST.

Company Profile
Company name: Veneno Technologies Corporation
Location: Tsukuba City Industrial Promotion Center, 2-5-1 Azuma, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture
Establishment: July 9, 2020
The company is engaged in the discovery, research and development of peptide DRPs for ion channels, transporters, GPCRs and other membrane proteins using Veneno Suite™.
Business description: URL: https://veneno.co.jp/

Notes:
1) Disulfide-Rich Peptide (DRP):
Disulfide-Rich Peptide (DRP): A generic term for peptides of about 20 to 60 amino acid residues that have a characteristic structure with three or more disulfide bonds in the molecule.
DRPs are potent bioactive peptides widely found in nature, from bacteria to humans, and have been studied extensively in animal venoms. Since animals use DRPs as a major component of venom and have evolved DRP peptides to be potent even in small amounts, DRPs are highly active and selective against ion channels and receptors. In addition, DRPs have multiple disulfides in their molecules. DRPs are highly stable against heat, pH, and degrading enzymes compared to linear peptides due to their tight molecular structure with multiple disulfide bonds in the molecule.
In recent years, DRP has attracted attention as a new basic molecule for drug discovery.
Low-molecular-weight compounds and antibodies, which are the mainstream of existing drug molecules, are not suitable for designing drug molecules for ion channels and GPCR due to their molecular characteristics.
DRPs are excellent natural agonists of ion channels and GPCRs, and have been applied to pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. However, DRPs are difficult to synthesize chemically due to their complex molecular structure, and effective drug screening methods (molecular discovery methods) for targeting membrane proteins are limited. Therefore, contrary to expectations for DRPs as functional components, their practical application has been slow to progress.

2)  Veneno Suite™:
Focusing on the usefulness of DRPs as functional peptides, the Veneno Suite™ was constructed by combining a method for searching for DRPs targeting membrane proteins developed at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) with a simple and inexpensive synthetic method.
The Veneno Suite™ consists of three core technologies: (1) DRP Space™: Technology for creating a large DRP focused library, (2) PERISS™: High speed screening technology using periplasmic display method, (3) Super Secrete™: Production technology using E. coli secretion method

3) Membrane proteins such as ion channels, transporters, and GPCRs:
In order for a cell to carry out its biological activities, it is necessary to maintain a constant environment inside and outside the cell, as well as to maintain a constant supply of inorganic ions and many water-soluble organic substances that are involved in biological metabolism.
In order for cells to carry out their biological activities, it is necessary to maintain a constant environment inside and outside the cell, and to allow the passage of molecules that cannot penetrate the cell membrane (lipid bilayer membrane), such as inorganic ions and many water-soluble organic substances involved in biological metabolism.
This special "passageway" is called the lipid bilayer. These special "passageways" are ion channels composed of membrane proteins and are called transporters.
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), on the other hand, receive extracellular neurotransmitters and hormones and transmit their signals to the inside of the cell, and are involved in maintaining homeostasis inside and outside the cell. There are various types of ion channels, transporters, and GPCRs, and they are involved in many diseases.
Therefore, they are important drug discovery targets.

For inquiries regarding this release, please contact:
Veneno Technologies Co.
[email protected]

SOURCE Veneno Technologies Co. Ltd.