CORE Biomedicine Gets Global Oncology License from Eisai, Raises $21M

Japanese drugmaker Eisai Co., Ltd. has signed an exclusive global licensing agreement with CORE Biomedicine, granting the biotech firm rights to develop and commercialise a portfolio of pre‑clinical oncology programmes that target key molecular drivers across multiple cancers. The agreement gives CORE Biomedicine the ability to advance these assets under its lineage‑based precision‑medicine approach.

In parallel, CORE Biomedicine closed a $21 million Series A financing round co‑led by Elikon Venture and the University of Tokyo Innovation Platform, with participation from several other investors. The company also received a grant from Japan’s Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) through its Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem, intended to accelerate research collaborations and early‑stage development of its cancer programmes.