Healios K.K. announced that it has entered into a License Agreement with Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc. that investigates novel pluripotent stem cell-derived therapeutic products, concerning the patent on a Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) cells production method shared with RIKEN, National Research and Development Agency in Japan, and Osaka University, National University Corporation in Japan, and the patent on a method for purification of RPE cells shared with Osaka University. Outline of License Agreements. Healios hereby grants AIRM a non-exclusive right to use the Patents in the countries where the Patents are applied for worldwide except Japan, for AIRM's use in the development, manufacture, and marketing of therapies using pluripotent stem cell- derived RPE cells.

Healios will receive an upfront payment of USD 3,000,000 upon execution of this agreement. In addition, Healios may subsequently receive up to USD 8,000,000 in milestone payments from AIRM upon U.S. approval of products developed and manufactured using these patents. Healios is researching new treatment methods to cure and bring hope to people suffering from intractable diseases with stem cell technology.

By not only conducting own research and development, but also by providing iPSC platform technology, experience, and intellectual property to other pharmaceutical companies, Healios will pave the way for the realization of new therapeutic methods and strive to realize mission through the development of the pharmaceutical industry as a whole.