FRONTEO and TAGCyx Bio concluded a PoC (Proof of Concept) feasibility agreement to explore new therapeutic targets and indications for artificial nucleic acid aptamers utilizing Drug Discovery AI Factory
FRONTEO, Inc. (Headquarter: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Masahiro Morimoto, hereinafter referred to as “FRONTEO”) and TAGCyx Biotechnologies Inc. (Headquarter: Meguro-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Chizuko Koseki, hereinafter referred to as “TAGCyx Bio”), a start-up biotech company developing innovative pharmaceuticals and diagnostic technologies using artificial nucleic acid aptamers*1 based on artificial base technology*2, are pleased to announce that we concluded a PoC (Proof of Concept) feasibility agreement to explore new therapeutic targets and indications for artificial nucleic acid aptamers developed by TAGCyx Bio using Drug Discovery AI Factory (DDAIF)*3 provided by FRONTEO.
This is a new approach aimed at accelerating the search for new target molecules and indications by utilizing AI in drug discovery research for artificial nucleic acid aptamers. Through the literature information analysis of “DDAIF”, to discover the potential relationship between diseases and target molecules that were difficult to find using conventional methods, it is expected that the possibility of drug discovery for artificial nucleic acid aptamers will be dramatically expanded.
■Features of both companies
FRONTEO has a proprietary technology to discontinuously discover “unknown relationships between diseases and target molecules” which associations are not documented in literatures by utilizing in-house developed AI “KIBIT”. “DDAIF” based on this technology has strengths in extracting highly novel target molecule candidates and analyzing disease mechanisms, and has being increasing adopted, primarily by major pharmaceutical companies.
On the other hand, TAGCyx Bio has a drug discovery platform based on artificial nucleic acid containing aptamers utilizing its proprietary technology, and is promoting research and development of oligonucleotide*4 therapeutics for autoimmune diseases, women’s diseases, kidney diseases and others. The efforts to commercialize the aptamers are accelerating both domestically and internationally, joint research with the University of Tokyo and Toray Industries Corporation on the treatment of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy*5, and the phase 2 clinical trial on vitiligo treatment has been started*6 by CAGE Bio Inc. (United States) based on the technology license.
■Overview of this PoC
In this PoC, new target molecule candidates and potential disease areas for artificial nucleic acid aptamers, and the possibility of adaptive expansion of existing nucleic acid aptamers will be explored systematically by utilizing FRONTEO’s “DDAIF”. By integrating the technologies and knowledge of both companies, we aim to expand options for creating new oligonucleotide therapeutics and contribute to solving unmet medical needs*7.
■Comment from TAGCyx Bio CEO Chizuko Koseki
“TAGCyx Bio is developing DNA aptamer drugs using artificial base technology, focusing on unmet needs in disease areas that cannot be targeted by antibody drugs due to the difficulty of formulation. While manually searching for and exploring targets by TAGCyx team that cannot be targeted by conventional modalities, we found out the potential of the AI search of FRONTEO’s “DDAIF” can be applied. We are excited about the possibility of gaining insights that exceed the manual search capabilities.”
■Comment from FRONTEO Director/CSO (Chief Science Officer) Hiroyoshi Toyoshiba
“FRONTEO’s strength is to discontinuously discover the unknown relationship between diseases and target molecules and disease mechanism which are not documented in literature in the world by utilizing proprietary AI and analysis technology. In this time, through integrating our “DDAIF” and TAGCyx Bio’s innovative novel artificial base pair technology, we expect that the potential applications of artificial nucleic acid aptamers to new diseases will be greatly expanded. We hope that this PoC will contribute to the creation of innovative oligonucleotide therapeutics, the resolution of unmet medical needs, and the development of Japanese pharmaceutical industry.”
*1 Nucleic acid aptamers: Short, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules that bind to specific target molecules with high specificity. Due to its strong binding to target molecules and high safety and stability, it is expected to have extensive applications in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
*2 Artificial base technology: A technology that develops new chemically synthesized bases (artificial bases) that are different from the four types of DNA bases (A, T, G and C) that exist in nature and incorporates them into DNA.
*3 DDAIF: An AI drug discovery support service in which FRONTEO’s drug discovery experts, who are well-versed in AI and drug discovery, use KIBIT’s natural language processing technology and proprietary analysis methods to search for target molecules and indications and provide supporting hypotheses.
*4 Oligonucleotide: Polymers that retain and transmit genetic information of living organisms, such as DNA and RNA.
*5 News release dated January 4, 2024, “TAGCyx Biotechnologies Inc., Toray Industries, Inc. and the University of Tokyo Launch Joint Research Initiative on the Development of Blood Purification Therapy for Pre-eclampsia during Pregnancy Using Aptamer-Immobilized Adsorption Columns” https://tagcyx.com/archives/1080
*6 News release dated October 24, 2025, “CAGE Bio Announces Initiation of a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of CGB-600, a novel topical DNA aptamer therapy for the treatment of vitiligo” https://tagcyx.com/archives/1197
*7 Unmet medical needs: Needs for new drugs and therapies for diseases for which no effective treatment has been found
■About TAGCyx Biotechnologies Inc. URL: https://tagcyx.com/
A start-up venture company from the University of Tokyo, which has the world’s leading technology platform of new artificial base pair, and is creating proprietary novel nucleic acid aptamers and promoting development in the fields of drug discovery and medical devices. The nucleic acid aptamer molecules with high specificity and stability can be created. The most advanced project has started clinical trials as a dermal application candidate for the treatment of vitiligo, an autoimmune disease of the skin, by the licensee company in the US. We aim to develop drugs for local administration and those focused on women-oriented diseases by taking advantages that our aptamer can be applied the formulation methods which are considered very difficult to develop for antibody drugs, and the fact that the molecules are difficult to penetrate the placenta.
■About FRONTEO Drug Discovery AI Factory（DDAIF）
URL：https://lifescience.fronteousa.com/products/drug-discovery-ai-factory/
FRONTEO Drug Discovery AI Factory (DDAIF) is an AI-based drug discovery support service that combines KIBIT (patented in Japan, Europe, the U.S., and Korea), an AI specialized in natural language processing, with the expertise of FRONTEO’s drug discovery researchers and AI engineers. It powerfully supports researchers’ decision-making in drug development through the analysis of disease-related gene networks and the construction of hypotheses regarding target molecule candidates. This service has already been adopted by multiple major pharmaceutical companies and has a proven track record.
*The technology used in Drug Discovery AI Factory is covered by a total of 21 patents held by FRONTEO in Japan, South Korea, the U.S., and Europe.
[Reference: Initiatives with pharmaceutical companies]
・FRONTEO and CellAxia have signed a PoC (demonstration experiment) agreement to improve the manufacturing efficiency and cellular function of cell therapy drugs (regenerative medicine products) using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20260107
・FRONTEO and Nippon Shinyaku Launch Co-Creation Project to Evaluate Drug Discovery Seeds, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20251223
・FRONTEO and Santen Pharmaceutical Launch Co-creation Project on Novel Target Molecule Search and Drug Repositioning in the Ophthalmology Field, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20251218
・FRONTEO and S-Quatre Launch a Co-Creation Project to Explore New Indications for Next-Generation Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth (SHED) Using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20251118
・FRONTEO and UBE Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Research Utilizing Drug Discovery AI Factory Aimed at Out-Licensing Innovative Drug Discovery Seeds, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20251113
・FRONTEO and Meiji Seika Pharma Launches Project on Drug Repositioning Using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20251023
・NB Health Laboratory and FRONTEO Signed PoC (Proof of Concept) Research Agreements, https://www.fronteo.com/news/251001
・FRONTEO Signs Phase 2 Agreement with Daiichi Sankyo on Toxicity Information Analysis Using the Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20250818
・FRONTEO and NICCA Chemical Launch Co-Creation Project Utilizing the Drug Discovery AI Factory for Novel Target Discovery in the Cosmetics Field, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20250805
・FRONTEO and Maruho Launch a Co-Creation Project on Drug Discovery Target Search in the Dermatology Field Using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20250710
・Fuji Pharma and FRONTEO Launch Co-Creation Project to Evaluate Drug Discovery Seeds in the Women’s Healthcare Field, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20250709
・Metagen Therapeutics and FRONTEO Launch Joint Research on Globally Watched Microbiome Drug Discovery, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250630
・FRONTEO and Chugai Pharmaceutical Launch Co-creation Project for Target Discovery Utilizing Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250515
・EA Pharma and FRONTEO Launch Co-Creation Project for AI-Powered Target Discovery in Drug Development, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250512
・FRONTEO and Eisai Launch Co-Creation Project for Target Discovery Using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250128
・FRONTEO and Maruishi Pharmaceutical Launch Co-creation Project on Biomarker Discovery Using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250109
・UBE and FRONTEO Launch a Co-Creation Project for Drug Repositioning Using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20241114
・FRONTEO and Daiichi Sankyo signed an agreement for optimization and analysis of toxicity information with Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20241112
[Reference: Initiatives with Academia]
・FRONTEO’s Article Search AI System “KIBIT Amanogawa” Adopted for Intractable Cancer Research at Keio University School of Pharmacy, Department of Pathophysiology, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20251106
・FRONTEO and the University of Oklahoma begin Joint Research into Drug Discovery in the Oncology Field, https://www.fronteo.com/news/pr/20250723_02
・FRONTEO and Institute of Science Tokyo Launch Joint Research on New Drug Discovery Targets Using the Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250513
・FRONTEO and Kumamoto University Begin Joint Research on the Search for New Cancer Treatments Using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250508
■About FRONTEO, Inc. URL: https://www.fronteo.com/en/
FRONTEO provides its proprietary AI KIBIT to support expert judgment across domains confronting social challenges. Its unique natural language processing technology (patented in Japan, Europe, the U.S., and South Korea) enables fast, high‑precision analysis without reliance on training data volume or computational power. Additionally, patented technology that maps (visualizes structure) analyzed information allows KIBIT to directly influence expert insights, and in recent years, KIBIT has been applied in hypothesis generation and target discovery for drug development.
Guided by its mission to enhance fairness in the information society by uncovering opportunities and risks hidden in collective intelligence, FRONTEO applies KIBIT’s unique capabilities in life sciences AI, risk management (including business intelligence, compliance, economic security, and legal tech AI), and digital transformation support (including business intelligence professional).
Founded in August 2003, FRONTEO was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers Market (now the Growth Market) on June 26, 2007. The company has offices in Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Taiwan. As of December 31, 2025, FRONTEO’s capital stands at 915,057,000 yen.
*FRONTEO, KIBIT, and Drug Discovery AI Factory are trademarks or registered trademarks of FRONTEO in Japan, Europe, the U.S., and South Korea.