HOIST

About HOIST

HOIST Corporation is a Japanese biotechnology firm that emerged from Osaka University in May 2019. The company was established to commercialize the research of Kazutake Tsujikawa, a former professor at the university's Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Spearheaded by Representative Director Chihaya Kakinuma, HOIST focuses on the research and development of cancer therapeutics and drug discovery support technologies.

The company's operations are twofold. The primary focus is the development of proprietary anti-cancer drugs. A notable candidate in their pipeline is a treatment for bladder cancer, which has shown potential to exceed existing drugs in efficacy and safety. HOIST is also advancing research in epitranscriptomics, a new target area for creating novel cancer treatments. The second part of their business involves providing drug discovery support services to pharmaceutical companies. This is centered on their specialized technology for creating Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) models and Patient-Derived primary Cells (PDC). These models, developed from patient tumor tissues, offer a more clinically relevant evaluation platform compared to traditional cell lines, a feature intended to increase the success rate of clinical trials.

HOIST's business model involves generating revenue through partnerships and licensing agreements with pharmaceutical companies for its drug development pipeline. The company also provides its custom-made PDC/PDX models to major pharmaceutical clients to support their drug development efforts. Since its inception, the company has secured multiple rounds of funding, including a significant Series A financing totaling 800 million JPY, led by Osaka University Venture Capital (OUVC), to advance its clinical trials and expand its support services.