Mebiopharm

About Mebiopharm

Mebiopharm is a Japanese biotechnology firm specializing in the development of anticancer drugs. The company was founded on July 15, 2002, by Professor Masazumi Eriguchi, Associate Professor Hironobu Yanagie, Professor Kazuo Maruyama, and Mr. Tadashi Fujisawa. The firm's core technology is an active drug delivery system (DDS) that utilizes nanoparticles with transferrin as a ligand. This platform technology allows for both passive targeting, through an enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect that prolongs drug circulation, and active targeting. Since transferrin receptors are overexpressed on many tumor cells, the nanoparticles are selectively taken up by cancer cells, improving the efficacy and safety of the encapsulated drugs.

The company's business model involves identifying research seeds, obtaining patents, and then outsourcing preclinical and clinical trials. Mebiopharm aims to license the development and marketing rights to other pharmaceutical companies to maximize global market reach. Its pipeline includes several candidates, such as MBP-426, a nanoparticle formulation of Oxaliplatin for solid tumors, which has completed Phase I and is in Phase IIa trials for gastric cancer. Other preclinical products target various cancers and inflammatory diseases using active ingredients like Methotrexate, Docetaxel, and Gemcitabine.