Singapore: According to a recent announcement, Japanese biopharmaceutical company Anaeropharma Science has received a $13.1 million investment from Seventure Partners, Europe’s leading venture capital firm focused on the microbiome space. The investment marks Seventure Partners’ first expansion outside the European market.

Based in Tokyo, Anaeropharma Science is into the development of anti-cancer drugs and has been developing more effective and safer therapies based on their core platform technology, in situ Delivery and Production System (i-DPS).

The company’s lead product APS001F is based on an obligate anaerobic bacterium. Bifidobacterium longum can only proliferate in the hypoxic core of solid tumours, where it secretes the enzyme cytosine deaminase turning a systemically administered prodrug into a cytotoxic agent, which hollows out the tumour from the inside. The company is currently conducting a Phase 1b/2a trial of APS001F in patients with advanced solid tumours in the U.S.

“There is a huge market opportunity for novel treatments that harness the specific capabilities of microbiome-derived bacteria. Anaeropharma Science is developing a pioneering approach to the cancer therapy, which may powerfully complement other axes of modern oncology research,” said Isabelle de Cremoux, CEO and Managing Partner of Seventure Partners.

“The Company’s innovative R&D is a great fit for our Health For Life Capital investment vehicle.” Eric de La Fortelle, Venture Partner at Seventure Partners, will have a Board observer seat in the company. Seventure focuses on four areas of interest, including the investment topic microbiome, nutrition, foodtech and personalised medicine.