– South Korean biotech company secures US$8 million in upfront payment for the joint commercialization of the stem cell therapy CARTISTEM® targeting the Japanese knee osteoarthritis market.
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — MEDIPOST Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ 078160), a fully integrated cell therapy biotechnology company, today announced a multi-year partnership with Japan’s Teikoku Seiyaku Co., Ltd. for the commercialization of CARTISTEM®, an innovative treatment for knee osteoarthritis, in the Japanese market.
Antonio Seung Jin Lee, Head of MEDIPOST’s Global Business Division and Co-CEO of MEDIPOST, Inc. & Akira Nakagawa, Board Member & Senior Managing Director, International Business
Under the terms of the agreement, MEDIPOST K.K. (MEDIPOST’s wholly-owend Japanese subsidiary) will grant an exclusive sales, distribution and promotion license for CARTISTEM® in Japan to Teikoku Seiyaku Co. Ltd.. Further, MEDIPOST will supply the drug substance (DS) while retaining all manufacturing rights. Additionally, MEDIPOST will receive an upfront payment of US$8 million, along with a US$10 million short-term regulatory-based milestone and undisclosed sales-based long-term milestones.
In turn, Teikoku Seiyaku Co. Ltd. will leverage its extensive orthopedic hospital and clinic network to promote and distribute CARTISTEM® in order to accelerate CARTISTEM®’s adoption among patients with moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis. Teikoku Seiyaku Co. Ltd. also plans to expand its medical representative division ahead of CARTISTEM®’s approval and as it seeks to address the significant unmet medical needs in Japan’s knee osteoarthritis treatment landscape.
About CARTISTEM®
CARTISTEM® is an allogeneic stem cell therapy designed to treat moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis. Since receiving regulatory approval in South Korea in 2012, CARTISTEM® has been administered to more than 35,000 patients over the past 13 years. CARTISTEM® demonstrates the ability to regenerate cartilage in knee osteoarthritis patients and holds the potential to be recognized as a disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD).
About MEDIPOST
Founded in 2000, MEDIPOST is a global stem cell therapy company with integrated capabilities spanning across discovery research with product and clinical development of allogeneic cell therapy pipelines, cord blood banking, and cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) business portfolios. MEDIPOST successfully commercialized the world’s first regulatory-approved (2012) allogeneic human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (hUCB-MSC) therapy product, CARTISTEM®, for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis patients across all age groups.
About Teikoku SeiyakuFounded in 1848, Teikoku Seiyaku is dedicated to its mission "For a World Without Pain." Leveraging its expertise in transdermal drug delivery technology, the company develops, manufactures, and markets pharmaceutical products, including transdermal patches and medical narcotics. For osteoarthritis, Teikoku Seiyaku has entered into a basic sales agreement with ReqMed Company, Ltd. regarding exclusive distribution rights in Japan for a subcutaneous injection containing NaPPS (sodium pentosan polysulfate), which is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials in Japan. Going forward, in orthopedics—one of its priority areas—we will expand its dedicated orthopedic team on the scale of 100 members and further strengthen its efforts to deliver treatments for diseases with high unmet medical needs, including osteoarthritis, to patients.
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