About us

Management Policy

Corporate Philosophy

By pursuing new possibilities for SLC transporters and developing innovative new drugs that address unmet medical needs, we will contribute to supporting people around the world to maintain good health and hope.

Code of Conduct

Goals for 2030

First-in-Class drug discovery from a venture company

Obtaining approval of LAT1 inhibitor (nanvuranlat) as monotherapy for the treatment of biliary tract cancer
Pursuing LAT1 inhibitors’ potential as a new immune agonist and expanding into other cancer types, autoimmune diseases, and personalized medicine
Creating new drugs targeting unexplored transporters
Creating a platform for SLC transporter drug discovery technology and structuring continuous drug discovery

Management

Masuhiro Yoshitake
(Max Yoshitake) President & CEO

Max was appointed President & CEO in December 2018. Prior to this, he held leadership positions in the global pharmaceutical business at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for over 30 years and served as Senior Executive Officer since 2007. While serving as Director of the U.S. office/laboratory and global business units, he successfully obtained FDA and EMA approvals for three pharmaceutical products.

Yutaka Fujimoto
(Yuta Fujimoto) Director & CFO

Yuta was appointed CFO in July 2023. He started his career at ZS Associates and engaged in consulting for global pharmaceutical companies in Japan and the U.S. After that, he worked at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. as Director of Business Intelligence and engaged in global marketing and other areas. Subsequently, he started his own companies (Zpeer Inc. (Japan) and VetScope (US)) and increased enterprise value by 200 times in 10 years, eventually selling the company to a global venture capital firm.

Corporate Governance

Our core management policy is to continuously enhance corporate value by maintaining transparency with shareholders and other stakeholders and by ensuring efficient and effective management practices. J-Pharma has chosen a “company with Audit and Supervisory Committee” structure to match the scale and nature of our business and to promote efficient management.
J-Pharma’s corporate governance structure is as follows:

Director Board of directors

Representative Director　President & CEO	Masuhiro Yoshitake
Director　CFO	Yutaka Fujimoto
External Director	Reiri Miura (SIIF Impact Capital)
External Director	Sadashi Suzuki (Newton Biocapital Partners)
External Director	Shinichiro Komoto (EIGHT ROADS VENTURES JAPAN)
External Director	Kazunobu Nishimura (Shinsei Corporate Investment)
External Director　Chair of Audit and Supervisory Committee	Toshiyuki Mori
External Director　Audit and Supervisory Committee Member	Teruhisa Tajima (certified public accountant)
External Director　Audit and Supervisory Committee Member	Kosaku Kawaguchi (Lawyer)

History

1993 Started fundamental research and application of transporters at Kyorin University
1998 Identified LAT1, a novel cancer-specific essential amino acid transporter protein
2001 Established Human Cell Systems Co., Ltd. (as an intellectual property managing entity)
2002 Identified URAT1, a uric acid transporter, and clarified its role in the development of hyperuricaemia
2005 Awarded Tokyo Cooperative Development Assistance Project for “Development of an anti-pancreatic cancer drug targeting a new molecular target”
2005 Established J-Pharma Co., Ltd.
2006 – 08 Awarded the Medical Device Practical Research Support Project funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation for “Development of drug for treating hyperphosphatemia” by J-Pharma
2007 – 08 Awarded Innovation Practical Application Project from New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) for “Development of scirrhous stomach cancer therapy” by J-Pharma
2007 – 09 Awarded Molecular Imaging Research Program from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) for “Development of novel molecular probes targeting cancer cell-specific membrane proteins” by J-Pharma
2009 – 10 Awarded Innovation Promotion Project from NEDO for “R&D project and clinical phase 1 study of a novel phosphoric acid adsorbent JPH101” by J-Pharma
2012 Awarded Venture Practical Application Grant Project from NEDO for “Clinical development of an innovative anticancer drug by inhibiting amino acid transporter” by J-Pharma
2012 Awarded a Special Zone Leading Project Grant from Yokohama City for “Development of an in vitro diagnostic kit for triple-negative malignant breast tumor” by J-Pharma
2013 Awarded Venture Practical Application Grant Project from NEDO for “Establishing POC of a novel anti-cancer drug nanvuranlat (Development code: JPH203) by clinical trials” by J-Pharma
2014 Awarded a Special Zone Leading Project Grant from Yokohama City for “Commercial application of in vitro diagnostics for triple-negative breast cancer” by J-Pharma
2015 Started Phase 1 study of nanvuranlat (Development code: JPH203) in Japan
2017 Completed Phase 1 study of nanvuranlat (Development code: JPH203)
2018 Started Phase 2 study of nanvuranlat (Development code: JPH203) in Japan
2019 Concluded an agreement with Ohara Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for licensing and co-development of nanvuranlat
2022 Completed Phase 2 study of nanvuranlat (Development code: JPH203) in Japan
2023 Established J-PHARMA USA INC., a U.S. subsidiary

Company name	J-Pharma Co.,Ltd.
Head office	Leading Venture Plaza 1, 75-1 Onocho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, 230-0046, Japan TEL: 045-506-1155 FAX: 045-506-1156
Founded	December 26, 2005
Representative	Masuhiro Yoshitake (President & CEO)
Capital stock	80,000,000 yen (as of March 2024)
Accounting period	March 31
Business description	Research & Development of pharmaceutical drugs
Number of employees	17 (as of November 30, 2023)
Subsidiary	J-PHARMA USA INC.

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Partner

Out-License

J-Pharma has entered into a license agreement with Ohara Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. under which Ohara Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. will file for approval and market our development compound nanvuranlat for the indication of advanced biliary tract cancer in Japan and Asia.

Ohara Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

In-License

J-Pharma has received exclusive patent licenses for JPH034, a compound developed by J-Pharma, from Osaka University and KNC Laboratories Co., Ltd.,. J-Pharma has also received a exclusive license to use patents held by Georgetown University for an amino acid transporter inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (including MS). Under these agreements, J-Pharma is proceeding with the development of JPH034.