Mission
Unleash the patient with IPF
Fibrosis is a devastating, fatal disease with no curative drugs. It affects all organs, including the lungs and the liver (cirrhosis). In terms of prevalence,idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) represents the most dominant form of lung fibrosis, accounting for 80-90% of cases. The two standard medications have been shown to slow the progression of fibrosis, but they do not stop or reverse it. The current standard of care for curative treatment is still transplantation. Our new drug, ATI-235, is an antibody drug designed to halt the progression of fibrosis. The target molecule is specifically expressed on fibroblasts, which are the most important key effector cells for fibrogenesis. All anti-fibrosis drugs currently on the market or in clinical trial cite fibroblast inhibition as a mode of action. However, none of the existing drugs directly inhibit fibroblasts. Rather, they target other cell types, including immune cells and alveolar epithelial cells, which indirectly affect fibroblasts. Our CEO has witnessed first-hand the suffering of patients with IPF and has a deep understanding of the unmet need for effective treatment. The discovery of ATI-235 by his team led to the establishment of ATI with the goal of improving patient outcomes.
Give priority to speed over profit
ATI was founded with three researchers at a university. The team has grown to 10 or more members over the past two years. Team members are Team members are experts in a variety of fields, including physician-scientists, biologists, drug monetization, contract negotiations, patent attorneys, clinical development, preclinical development, and a professor of regulatory affairs. These diverse members are united by a common goal and philosophy. There must be many potential drug seeds to be in the global market in academia, so we are committed to finding the fastest and most efficient route for drugs to reach patients, making this the most important criterion at every decision point.
Explore into matrix signaling
Cell signaling is a fundamental aspect of biological processes. Cytokines and growth factors are well-known ligands that initiate signaling at the cell surface. Many antibody drugs targeting this signaling are currently in clinical use. In contrast, despite the identification of the matrix receptor family that mediates the signal input over 30 years ago, there is still much to be discovered about matrix signaling, particularly in the context of pathology. Given that a matrix protein can bind to multiple integrins and vice versa, integrins were initially considered to be redundant. Nevertheless, a series of knockout experiments for each integrin yielded somewhat surprising results. None of the phenotypes were identical or similar, and most integrin knockouts were lethal at the embryonic stage or shortly after birth. This indicates that an integrin plays an indispensable role in life. We will pay close attention to the dialogue between cells and their surrounding matrix and pursue further seeds following ATI-235 and ATI-180. This will enable us and other pharmaceutical teams to provide patients with new treatment options
History
Antibody Therapeutic Inc. (ATI) is a startup, established in 2022 by Professor Yas Yokosaki to implement the monoclonal antibodies that shut off matrix signaling. Those ideas are maturated from the Cell-Matrix Research in UCSF and Hiroshima University. ATI was founded with only 4 members including an assistant professor, a post-doc fellow and a research associate. Being supported by Startup Acceleration Programs, CEO Dr. Yokosaki got acquainted with a mentor, Toshio Nagae, an outside director of Peptidream Inc. He not only energized but also opened an avenue to the community of experts, indispensable for drug discovery startup, such as business contact, CMC, and financial accounting. Their navigation and tons of supports brought us to the first equity financing. We have just begun drug manufacturing against organ fibrosis including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and lung, colon and pancreas cancers.
Corporation
| Name of company | ㍿抗体医学研究所 |
| Name in English | Antibody Therapeutics, Inc |
| Headquarter | Hiroshima City |
| Laboratory | Hiroshima City |
| Tokyo Office* | Minato-ku, Tokyo |
| Tokyo Business Office | Link-J, Chuo-ku, Tokyo |
| CEO | Yasuyuki Yokosaki, MD. PhD. |
| COO | Kimio Nishimura, MBA |
| Web | https://www.integrin.jp |
| Founded | June, 2022 |
| Settle account | August |
| Corporation Number | 1240001059837 |
| Staff | 6 |
| Executive Director | 3 |
| Legal Counsel | Hiroshima General Legal and Accounting Office |
| Business | Drug discovery for organ fibrosis and cancers, including IPF and Lung cancer |
| Patent | 5 |
| Applicant and Patentee | ATI or Yokosaki&Nishimichi |
