RIBOMIC Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Yoshikazu Nakamura) and Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President: Taro Fujie) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a joint research agreement to develop technologies for controlling the pharmacokinetics of nucleic acid aptamers in the body.

RIBOMIC is promoting research and development, including collaboration with domestic and overseas companies and academia, with the aim of developing technologies for next-generation aptamer drugs. Nucleic acid aptamer compounds are generally modified with polyethylene glycol (hereinafter referred to as “PEG”) to enhance their in vivo stability. However, PEG is known to have problems with its chemical properties, such as its high viscosity and the generation of peroxides, so RIBOMIC has been exploring alternative technologies. The Ajinomoto Group has identified the healthcare field as one of its growth areas, and has outstanding molecular design and compound synthesis technologies through its nucleic acid pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical CDMO businesses, which are expected to accelerate in the future. In this joint research, we will combine our proprietary nucleic acid aptamer compound creation and measurement technology and the Ajinomoto Group’s antibody-drug conjugate manufacturing technology called AJICAP®. By combining with AJICAP, we aim to establish a technology to control the pharmacokinetics of nucleic acid aptamers in the body to solve the above problems.

About RIBOMIC Inc. As a drug discovery bio-venture, we are engaged in drug discovery targeting a wide range of unmet medical needs, such as pain, eye disorders, and bone diseases, with the development of aptamer drugs, which are expected to be developed as next-generation drugs, as our core business. In addition, we are applying our RiboART system to fields other than drug discovery, and are working on the development of new applications for aptamers other than pharmaceuticals. For more information, see https://www.ribomic.com .

About Ajinomoto Co. Inc and Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services Based on the corporate message “Eat Well, Live Well.”, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. has been scientifically pursuing the possibilities of amino acids to aim for future growth by creating new value through sustainable and innovative solutions for communities and society. For additional information about Ajinomoto Co. (TYO: 2802), please visit www.ajinomoto.com. As its pharmaceutical arm, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services is a fully integrated contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with sites in Belgium, United States, Japan, and India, providing comprehensive development, cGMP manufacturing, and aseptic fill finish services for small through large molecule APIs and intermediates. For more information about Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, please visit www.AjiBio-Pharma.com. In addition, Ajinomoto Co. and Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services offer a broad range of innovative platform technologies and capabilities for pre-clinical and pilot programs to commercial quantities, including AJIPHASE® oligonucleotide manufacturing technology, CORYNEX® and TALAMAX® protein expression systems, AJICAP® site-specific conjugation and linker technologies for ADCs, and continuous flow manufacturing. For additional information on the platform technologies, please visit https://ajibio-pharma.ajinomoto.com/.