The leaders of Chugai Pharmaceutical are tired of their company not getting its due. At the J.P. Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, they\u2019re working hard to change that while also seeking out new science to bring into their storied drug discovery operation.<\/p>\n
The purpose for Chugai to present at the event is to \u201cbe acquainted\u201d with the broader biopharma ecosystem, Osamu Okuda, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Roche subsidiary, told Fierce Biotech on Tuesday evening. \u201cThe name of Chugai is not well recognized,\u201d he said, even though some of their products are household names in the industry.<\/p>\n
Chugai invented Roche\u2019s blockbuster hemophilia drug Hemlibra (emicizumab)<\/a> and the small molecule GLP-1 orforglipron, which Eli Lilly licensed in 2018<\/a> and has since become one of the buzziest drug candidates<\/a> in recent memory. An FDA approval decision for the weight loss pill is expected by this spring.<\/p>\n The Roche-owned company was even ahead of the curve on protein degraders, an ascendant area of interest<\/a> for numerous pharma giants. Hitoshi Iikura, Ph.D., Chugai\u2019s head of R&D, told Fierce that the company\u2019s \u201crecycling antibody\u201d approach, where antibodies can bind to a target multiple times instead of just once, achieved the effects of protein degradation about a decade ago. The first such antibody to be approved by the FDA was Enspryng (satralizumab)<\/a> in 2020 for neuromyelitis\u00a0optica\u00a0spectrum disorder.<\/p>\n The Japanese pharma is hunting name recognition at JPM because its mid- to long-term growth strategy, which involves shifting away from Chugai\u2019s history as an internal R&D powerhouse to bring in more external partners, according to Okuda.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of lots of amazing technologies and modalities and sciences becoming available,\u201d the chief exec said. Because of that, Chugai believes it may be \u201cbetter for us,\u201d to be prudent and collaborate by combining that external tech with in-house expertise \u201cto create even more unique modality technologies for patients around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n An example of the kind of pacts Chugai would like to forge is the pharma\u2019s recent team-up<\/a> with California biotech Rani Therapeutics. The collaboration will see Chugai package one of its rare disease antibodies inside Rani\u2019s oral drug delivery system, the RaniPill.<\/p>\n The goal is to \u201cmake antibody therapeutics orally available, which is usually impossible,\u201d Okuda told Fierce. Rani\u2019s capsule houses \u201ctiny needles\u201d that pierce the intestinal tract to pump antibody into the bloodstream, he explained.<\/p>\n In addition to turning its drug discovery machine onto more engineered antibodies, which are the pharma\u2019s bread and butter, Chugai\u2019s other specialties are small molecules\u2014like orforglipron\u2014and macrocyclic peptides. The company is keen to explore gene therapies and antibody-drug conjugates through partnerships, as despite its antibody prowess, Chugai doesn\u2019t have any solid linker technology of its own.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just announced the collaboration with Araris [Biotech], which has a very good linker technology, so we can create a very unique, good ADC,\u201d Okuda said. That deal could top $780 million<\/a> if its milestones are met.<\/p>\n But no matter how many new partners Chugai adds to its roster, a certain Swiss Big Pharma will always hold a special place for them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best partner for us is always Roche,\u201d Okuda said. \u201cIt’s been working really well for the last 23 years, and that is the basis of our business.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Picking winners<\/p>\n While Chugai\u2019s name might not be well-known in the U.S., the company is a frequent scientific partner in its native country. Hemlibra originated from a research collaboration with Nara Medical University<\/a>, while the first-in-class anti-interluekin-6 antibody Actemra (tocilizumab)<\/a> was developed with Osaka University, Iikaru told Fierce.<\/p>\n \u201cChugai historically has a strong collaboration with Japanese academia,\u201d the R&D leader said. But one academic team-up recently rocketed above the others thanks to the Nobel Assembly in Sweden.<\/p>\n Japanese immunologist Shimon Sakaguchi, M.D., Ph.D., was one of three winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine<\/a> last October for his discovery of regulatory T cells. These rare immune cells patrol the body for self-reactive T cells and disarm them, protecting against autoimmune diseases.<\/p>\n Sakaguchi is working with several biopharma companies to turn his award-winning discovery into new medicines<\/a>, including Chugai.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been working with Professor Sakaguchi for a long time,\u201d CEO Okuda said. \u201cWe have been waiting for him to receive the Nobel Prize.\u201d<\/p>\n The illustrious partnership centers on an antibody called ROSE12, which is designed to bind to CTLA-4 on the surface of regulatory T cells inside tumors and deactivate them, granting T cells free rein to attack the tumor. Chugai is currently running the molecule through a phase 1 study<\/a> in solid tumors.<\/p>\n Chugai\u2019s partnerships with Japanese academics are oriented around the sharing of knowledge and technology, the company\u2019s leaders told Fierce, rather than the spinning out of startups as is more common in the U.S. But the pharma has launched an American style of investment, unveiling the Chugai Venture Fund<\/a> in Boston in 2023 with $200 million.<\/p>\n While the fund\u2019s mandate is to look for innovation globally, the main focus of investment area is the U.S. and Western European countries, Chugai\u2019s Chief Financial Officer Iwaaki Taniguchi told Fierce. The fund\u2019s most recently announced investment<\/a> supported the $65 million launch of Bay Area biotech Dualitas Therapeutics, which is developing next-gen bispecific antibodies.<\/p>\n While Chugai is operating in 2026 with global vision, the century-old company will always have an eye on Japan. Unlike neighboring China, which has risen into a global biopharma leader, the industry in Japan is still \u201cemerging,\u201d Okuda said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Japanese government is significantly supporting to grow the drug discovery ecosystem,\u201d he added, part of a plan that began under former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and has continued through to his newest successor, Sanae Takaichi.<\/p>\n Takaichi, the first woman to be prime minister in Japanese history, has outlined 17 key areas of economic growth<\/a> for the nation, with biotechnology and drug discovery included as two of them.<\/p>\n