SOLA Biosciences Japan GK (SOLA Japan), the wholly owned Japanese subsidiary of Boston-based SOLA Biosciences Inc., announced that it has been awarded a grant of approximately 6 billion yen over five years by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) under the Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem. The award was announced by AMED on June 5, 2026, and SOLA Japan is now advancing the program, which supports the development of SOL-257, SOLA's gene therapy program designed to restore the structure and function of misfolded TDP-43, a key pathogenic driver of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Through the AMED-supported program, SOLA Japan will serve as a central development hub in Japan, working closely with the SOLA team in the United States and with academic institutions, clinical development organizations, manufacturing partners, investors, and other collaborators in Japan and globally. The program is supported by Curie. Bio, an AMED-registered venture capital firm, as lead investor, with UTEC (The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners) participating as a follow-on investor.
ALS is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with a high unmet medical need. In approximately 97 per cent of ALS cases, TDP-43 is reported to become mislocalized, misfolded, and aggregated in motor neurons, contributing to loss of normal TDP-43 function and neurodegeneration.
SOL-257 was developed using SOLA's proprietary JUMP70 platform, which is designed to harness the cell's natural protein quality-control machinery to selectively recognize disease-associated misfolded proteins while preserving their normal counterparts. JUMP70 combines a disease-specific targeting domain with a protein quality-control activation domain to engage HSP70, a key molecular chaperone involved in protein repair and removal.
In SOL-257, this technology is designed to selectively target misfolded TDP-43 and promote restoration of proper protein folding and function. By addressing a central molecular pathology present in the vast majority of ALS patients, SOLA aims to develop SOL-257 as a potentially first-in-class, disease-modifying gene therapy. Under the AMED-supported program, SOLA seeks to advance SOL-257 toward human proof of concept in both the United States and Japan, establishing a strong foundation for global clinical development.
"We are deeply honored to receive this support from AMED and feel a profound responsibility to advance SOL-257 as efficiently and rigorously as possible," said Keizo Koya, Ph.D., Founder, CEO & President of SOLA Biosciences Inc. and SOLA Biosciences Japan GK. "For ALS patients and their families, time is extremely important. We will continue working closely with researchers, clinicians, investors, manufacturing partners, and pharmaceutical collaborators in Japan and the United States to bring an innovative new treatment to patients as quickly as possible."
