Basic Agreement with Shift Zero K.K. on a Capital Business Partnership Enhancing Service Structures in the Field of Oncology*1

November 11, 2015
CMIC HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.

CMIC HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (head offices: Shinagawa-ku Tokyo, Chairman & CEO: Kazuo Nakamura, “CMIC” herein) and Shift Zero K.K. (head offices: Shinagawa-ku Tokyo, Chairman & CEO: Kiyoshi Fujimaru, “Shift Zero” herein) announce their signing of a basic agreement on a capital business partnership.

1. Purpose of the Business Partnership

New drug development in recent years has expanded from the field of lifestyle-related conditions with a large market share, to the domain of unmet medical needs where there are no treatment modalities per se, or treatment satisfaction with existing pharmaceuticals is low.

New drugs are being developed for various conditions, particularly in the field of oncology, and the field’s overall market share is expected to grow.

Meanwhile, the risks/ costs associated with new drug development have also grown, and comprehensive services with an eye toward ever more specialized high-caliber clinical development support, post-marketing promotion and overall product lifecycles are now in demand.

Since starting as Japan’s first CRO (contract research organization) in 1992, the CMIC group has made great strides in numerous clinical development undertakings and the clinical development of its own finished products, and now provides comprehensive support operations for the manufacture, and the sales & marketing of pharmaceuticals.

The basic agreement, which also encompasses this capital alliance, will make possible the provision of comprehensive solutions in development & manufacture & marketing with a focus on the oncology arena, and will contribute to pricing improvements for new drugs, by combining the high-caliber knowledge & know-how that Shift Zero has in the field of oncology with the wide range of services for pharmaceutical products that CMIC has.

2. Partnership Overview

*1: Field of study that does research on the causes of & treatments for tumors and other cancers: oncology.

About Shift Zero K.K.

Shift Zero provides full services with the lifecycle of pharmaceuticals in mind from initial planning through to the preparation & conduct of clinical trials and post-market promotional activities, and thereby brings pharmaceutical products to their fullest potential through the realization of high-quality pharmaceutical introductions to market, with branding aimed at post-marketing from the development stage, and a commitment to finished products throughout their entire lifecycles.
Of note, their staff highly specialized in the field of oncology provide support for the conduct of high quality clinical trials and global trials initiating in Japan from Phase I.For more information, please visit their website at: Shift Zero K.K