Sosei Heptares and Kallyope Enter Collaboration to Identify and Validate Novel Gastrointestinal GPCR Targets for Drug Discovery

Collaboration is part of Sosei Heptares’ Target Identification and Validation (TIV) strategy to leverage multiple sophisticated technologies that drive creation of new drug discovery programs in key therapeutic areas

Kallyope, pioneers in drug discovery involving the gut-brain axis, will gain unique and valuable access to the Sosei Heptares’ compound library for its industry-leading biology platform to identify potential GPCR targets and advance the development of new gastrointestinal therapeutics

TOKYO, Japan and CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom and NEW YORK, May 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sosei Group Corporation (“Sosei Heptares”; TSE: 4565), the international biopharmaceutical company, and New York City-based Kallyope, pioneers in drug discovery involving the gut-brain axis, have entered a strategic research collaboration to identify and validate novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets with a goal of creating new drug discovery programs in the area of gastrointestinal diseases.

The agreement will leverage Sosei Heptares’ GPCR Diversified Compound Library and GPCR expertise with the innovative Kallyope gut-brain axis platform, which combines single-cell sequencing, circuit mapping, computational biology and enteroid phenotypic screening. Together, the companies will prioritize and validate GPCR drug targets that represent new opportunities for potential therapeutic intervention in gastrointestinal diseases and create programs for the development of novel small molecules that modulate these targets.

“This collaboration with Kallyope further builds on our Target Identification and Validation (TIV) strategy, which sees us partnering with innovative companies to apply powerful, leading-edge technologies and find new ways to leverage our world-leading GPCR platform to identify and validate novel GPCR targets and initiate new drug discovery programs,” said Matt Barnes, Head of UK Research and Development, Sosei Heptares. “Kallyope leads the industry in its understanding of the gut-brain axis, and we are excited to work with them to identify novel GPCR targets and validate their therapeutic potential in gastrointestinal disease. This is a key area of focus for Sosei Heptares.”

The gastrointestinal tract is the largest and most accessible drug target in the human body. With the greater understanding of gut and gut-brain biology enabled by its platform, Kallyope has generated novel programs spanning several relevant therapeutic areas. A key element of the Kallyope strategy is to target gut and gut-brain physiology with gut-targeted molecules, a fundamentally new approach anticipated to increase the speed and probability of success of drug discovery and development.

“The GPCR platform and scientific expertise of Sosei Heptares is highly complementary to our own target discovery platform and expertise,” said Nancy Thornberry, Chair, Research and Development, Kallyope. “We believe the sophisticated enteroid screening system we’ve developed, when coupled with the compound library and structural biology capabilities that Sosei Heptares has spent 15 years building, will deliver novel targets – with the ultimate goal of new therapies – in areas of high unmet need. We look forward to making significant advances with important implications for human health.”

About Sosei Heptares
We are an international biopharmaceutical group focused on the discovery and early development of new medicines originating from our proprietary GPCR-targeted StaR^® technology and structure-based drug design platform capabilities. We are advancing a broad and deep pipeline of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including neurology, immunology, gastroenterology and inflammatory diseases.

We have established partnerships with some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies and multiple emerging biotechnology companies, including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Biohaven, Genentech (Roche), GSK, Kallyope, Neurocrine Biosciences, Novartis, Pfizer, Takeda and Verily. Sosei Heptares is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with corporate and R&D facilities in Cambridge, UK.

“Sosei Heptares” is the corporate brand and trademark of Sosei Group Corporation, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565). Sosei, Heptares, the logo and StaR^® are trademarks of Sosei Group companies.

For more information, please visit https://soseiheptares.com/
LinkedIn: @soseiheptaresco | Twitter: @soseiheptaresco | YouTube: @soseiheptaresco

About Kallyope
Kallyope, headquartered at the Alexandria Center^® for Life Science in New York City, is a biotechnology company dedicated to unlocking the therapeutic potential of the gut-brain axis. The company’s cross-disciplinary team integrates advanced technologies in sequencing, bioinformatics, neural imaging, cellular and molecular biology, and human genetics to provide an understanding of gut-brain biology that leads to transformational therapeutics to improve human health. The company’s founders are Charles Zuker, Ph.D., Lasker Award winner Tom Maniatis, Ph.D., and Nobel laureate Richard Axel, M.D. For more information visit www.kallyope.com

Enquiries:

Sosei Heptares – Media and Investor Relations
Hironoshin Nomura, Chief Financial Officer
Shinichiro Nishishita, VP Investor Relations, Head of Regulatory Disclosures
Candelle Chong, SVP Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy
Japan: +81 (0)3 5210 3399 | United Kingdom: +44 (0)1223 949390 | [email protected]

MEDiSTRAVA Consulting (for International Media)
Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Eleanor Perkin
+44 (0)203 928 6900 | [email protected]

Kallyope
Anita Kawatra
[email protected]

Sosei Heptares forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development, and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Sosei Group Corporation’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.