BRIEF—Fujifilm to exploit drug delivery tech to create novel gene therapies

The med device arm of diversified tech firm Fujifilm has agreed to pay 470 million yen ($4 million) for 11.7% of drug discovery startup EdiGene, as part of the latter’s series A funding round.

In addition, the firms have signed a joint research agreement aimed at discovering gene therapy drugs, combining Fujifilm's technology for liposomal formulations with EdiGene's genome editing platform.

EdiGene, which was spun out of the University of Tokyo, employs CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing techniques and has established a proprietary technology to miniaturize the Cas9 enzyme.

Fujifilm applies technologies such as advanced nano-dispersion to efficiently deliver active ingredients. Fujifilm aims to apply its technologies to ribonucleic acid (RNA) to create gene therapy drugs.