Nitto Denko Corporation (Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President & CEO & COO: Hideo Takasaki; hereinafter, “Nitto”) and Drug Discovery Gateway Investment Limited Partnership (hereinafter, “DDG”) operated by Whiz Partners Inc.(Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; Founder, Chief Executive Officer: Toshio Ando) entered an alliance to accelerate the commercialization of “PassPort System”, our new transdermal therapeutic system.
Nitto has been working to create new values in the Life Science business by utilizing its core technologies in pharmaceutical raw materials, drug discovery/development, oligonucleotide drug manufacturing, and drug delivery systems (DDS).
Nitto and DDG have come to an agreement to enter an alliance to work with PassPort Technologies, Inc., which was established to accelerate the development and commercialization of PassPort System, the next-generation DDS technology.
DDG not only has great expertise and experience in drug discovery/development but also has extensive network with the pharmaceutical/medical device industry, physicians and academia. Nitto and DDG believe that the alliance will contribute to the steady advancement of clinical development and expansion of PassPort System pipeline of PassPort Technologies, Inc. Nitto will continue to oversee manufacturing of PassPort System pharmaceutical products and contribute to the development of self-medication technologies with this new partnership.
*DDS(Drug Delivery System)：Method of administering drugs that maximizes the efficacy by optimizing the formulation to deliver the required amount at the required timing to the targeted area.
PassPort System is a new technology for transdermal drug delivery that combines microporation technology (to generate micropores on the surface of skin) and drug patch technology (to deliver the drug stored in the adhesive of the patch). PassPort System is capable of transdermal absorption of mid-size compounds (such as peptides and oligonucleotides), large-size biopharmaceuticals (such as proteins), and small, hydrophilic pharmaceuticals, which have traditionally been administered by injection or infusion. Thus, PassPort System has the potential to be a new administration option. PassPort System can also control the administration rate of drugs by controlling the size and number of micropores, and the formulation compositions.
Whiz Partners Inc., based in Tokyo, is an independent, alternative asset management firm with growth equity and global macro hedge fund offerings. The company has robust expertise and experience in healthcare, information technology, and AI and has offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai. For more information, please visit http://www.whizp.com.
DDG was established in collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and Whiz Partners Inc. DDG initiated its investment activities in April 2019 with the purpose of promoting drug discovery/development ecosystem in Japan in collaboration with Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners Inc., the flagship portfolio company invested through DDG.
The mission of PassPort Technologies, Inc. is to accelerate the development of superior pharmaceuticals using the PassPort System and delivery to patients as quickly as possible. In addition, the company aims to establish alliances with a wide range of companies in the life science industry (not only pharmaceutical companies, but also cosmetic companies) by placing headquarters in San Diego, USA, which is one of the world leading hot-spots with respect to biology and information technology, thus contributing to wellness of a greater number of people.
PassPort Technologies, Inc., Business Development, Jared C. Hahn
Phone(USA)：+1-858-888-4188 / E-mail：Jared.Hahn@passport-tech.com
For any inquiries about this press release.
