Luxna Biotech

About Luxna Biotech

Luxna Biotech is a preclinical-stage drug discovery company founded in December 2017 with its headquarters in Suita, Osaka, Japan. The company began operations in February 2018. The President and CEO is Hideaki Sato. The company was established to develop and commercialize the artificial nucleic acid technologies invented by Professor Satoshi Obika's group at the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Osaka University. Luxna Biotech holds a comprehensive license from Osaka University for the patents generated from this research.

The company's core business revolves around its proprietary drug discovery platform, LuxiAP® (Luxna's XNAs incorporated Antisense Platform), which utilizes a group of modified xeno nucleic acids (XNAs) including AmNA™, scpBNA™, GuNA™, and 5'-CP™. This technology aims to create antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapeutics with high efficacy and enhanced safety by ensuring a strong binding affinity to target mRNA while reducing toxicities, such as hepatotoxicity and neurotoxicity. The platform addresses common challenges in oligonucleotide therapeutic development, including sequence design and structural optimization.

Luxna Biotech's business model is multifaceted and includes four main pillars: collaborative drug discovery programs with pharmaceutical companies; technology licensing of its XNAs; in-house drug discovery, often in partnership with academia; and the supply of XNAs monomers. The company engages in cooperative development with several pharmaceutical firms and academic labs for multiple targets, particularly in the field of neurological disorders. Notable collaborations include agreements with Takeda for neurological diseases, Servier for neurological diseases, and Aligos Therapeutics for viral diseases, including hepatitis B and coronaviruses. The company has also partnered with CDMOs like BioSpring and Summit Pharmaceuticals International to manufacture and supply its proprietary XNA amidites.

The company has successfully raised significant capital through multiple funding rounds. It completed a Series A round of JPY 650 million in February 2020. By December 2021, the total funds raised reached approximately JPY 2.3 billion after a Series B round. A Series C funding round in 2024 and 2025 brought the total raised amount to JPY 2.69 billion. Key investors include Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, DCI Partners, Kobe University Capital, and Osaka University Venture Capital, among others.