Tokyo-based Celaid Therapeutics completed the second close of its Series B financing round, raising JPY 400 million (approximately USD 2.6 million) from Shionogi & Co., Ltd. and Teikoku Ventures, Inc. to advance US clinical trial preparations for its lead ex vivo-expanded hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) therapy, CLD-001.
Both Shionogi and Teikoku Ventures — the corporate venture capital arm of the TEIKOKU SEIYAKU Group — joined as new investors through a private placement of new shares. The second close extends a Series B round that raised JPY 1.055 billion (USD 7.2 million) at its first close. Celaid also passed the second stage-gate review of AMED's "Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem" and was selected for Stage 3 grant funding, bringing cumulative funding including grants to approximately JPY 3.42 billion (approximately USD 22.1 million).
Proceeds will support manufacturing, safety assessment, clinical development, and regulatory activities toward an IND application and clinical trial initiation in the US. CLD-001, an ex vivo-expanded hematopoietic stem cell therapy that uses frozen umbilical cord blood as its cell source, is being developed for severe pediatric non-malignant diseases. Celaid Therapeutics said it has completed a Pre-IND meeting with the US FDA and transferred the CLD-001 manufacturing process to a US CDMO.