Metagen Therapeutics Secures ¥190 Million to Accelerate Clinical Implementation of Microbiome-Based Therapies

Funding Overview

Metagen Therapeutics, a biotech startup specializing in medical and pharmaceutical applications based on gut microbiome research, has announced a first close of its Series B extension round, raising a total of ¥190 million. The round was led by the Hokkaido University Green Frontier Fund 1 and the Tokai R&D Fund 1. This latest injection of capital brings the company's total funding to date to ¥6.84 billion.

About Metagen Therapeutics

Founded as a spin-out from Juntendo University, Keio University, and the Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Medical and Dental University), Metagen Therapeutics is driven by its mission to "fulfill patient needs through microbiome science." Operating on the foundation of its proprietary "Gut Microbiome Bank," the company focuses on both medical service and drug discovery. The company is actively working to bring Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) to clinical practice for intractable diseases such as ulcerative colitis and cancer, having established its own specialized supply chain to support these efforts.

Purpose of Funding and Future Outlook

The newly raised capital will be allocated toward three key initiatives: First, accelerating the clinical development of its ulcerative colitis treatment candidate, "MGT-006." Second, advancing the clinical pipeline for other microbiome-based therapeutic technologies, including the FMT therapy "MGT-001" for ulcerative colitis, the combination therapy "MGT-007" for gastrointestinal cancers, and the "MGT-008" treatment for Parkinson's disease. Third, optimizing the company's supply chain, which encompasses stool donor management and the manufacturing of investigational products. Through these efforts, Metagen Therapeutics aims to strengthen its academic partnerships and accelerate the development of a framework to deliver Japanese-originated microbiome medicine to patients worldwide.