Celaid Therapeutics has raised ¥400 million, approximately $2.6 million, in the second close of its Series B financing round, with Shionogi & Co., Ltd. and Teikoku Ventures, Inc. joining as new investors. The financing was completed through a private placement of new shares.
Established in Tokyo in 2020, Celaid Therapeutics is a biotechnology startup developing technologies for the selective ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells. The company was co-founded by President and CEO Nobuyuki Arakawa and originated from research associated with the University of Tokyo and the University of Tsukuba.
Its lead program, CLD-001, is an ex vivo-expanded hematopoietic stem cell therapy being developed for severe pediatric non-malignant diseases. Celaid is preparing the program for a first-in-human clinical trial in the United States and has completed a Pre-IND meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration. The company has also established the manufacturing process for CLD-001 and transferred the technology to a US contract development and manufacturing organization.
Celaid plans to use the new capital primarily for cell manufacturing, safety assessment, clinical development and regulatory work supporting an IND application and the start of US clinical trials for CLD-001. It also plans to further develop its hematopoietic stem cell expansion platform for potential applications across cell and gene therapies.
Alongside the financing, Celaid advanced to Stage 3 of the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development’s Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem. Including grants and other funding, the company said its cumulative funding has reached approximately ¥3.42 billion, or $22.1 million.
Celaid previously announced the first close of its Series B in October 2025, comprising ¥555 million in equity financing and approximately ¥500 million in AMED grant funding.
