Astellas and MBC BioLabs Announce the 2025 Astellas Future Innovator Prize Awarded to DeepSeq.AI & Serna Bio

• Both companies have earned a year-long opportunity for access to a distinguished life-science incubator in San Francisco along with the invaluable expertise provided by Astellas to advance their research endeavors
  
  
• Award helps biotech startups accelerate early research efforts

NORTHBROOK, Ill., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma U.S. Inc. (Head of Commercial: Mike Petroutsas, "Astellas"), and MBC BioLabs, a premier launchpad for early-stage life-science companies, today announced DeepSeq.AI, Inc. & Serna Bio as the winners of the Astellas sponsored Future Innovator Prize at MBC BioLabs. The award, now in its sixth year, offers entrepreneurial scientists, emerging startups and small biotechs one-year priority usage of MBC BioLabs' state-of-the-art lab facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as access to Astellas' research and development capabilities and business leaders.  

Astellas received more than 50 applications for the prize. After careful consideration and a competitive pitch process, both companies were chosen for strength of the innovation in their approach, the therapeutic potential of their research and expandability of their technological platforms.

Issei Tsukamoto, Head, Business Development at Astellas

"The Astellas Future Innovator Prize recognizes visionary startups whose scientific breakthroughs have the potential to transform patient care globally," said Issei Tsukamoto, Head of Business Development at Astellas. "We congratulate DeepSeq.AI and Serna Bio on their exceptional work in oncology and infectious diseases, as well as CNS, respectively. Through this award, and in collaboration with MBC BioLabs, we are proud to support their efforts to advance cutting-edge science into meaningful treatments for patients around the world."

Doug Crawford, General Manager at MBC BioLabs

"We're thrilled to recognize and support the next generation of scientific pioneers here at MBC BioLabs," said Doug Crawford, General Manager of MBC BioLabs. "The Future Innovator Prize provides access to a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, expert mentorship, and state-of-the-art lab facilities designed to accelerate early-stage breakthroughs. By partnering with Astellas, we're empowering these promising startups to advance bold ideas that could transform patient care. We look forward to seeing the impact their innovations will have in the years ahead."

About the Astellas Future Innovator Prize at MBC BioLabs

Astellas awards up to two prizes for pioneering scientists with innovative research that complements its Focus Area Approach, including Genetic Regulation, Immuno-Oncology, Targeted Protein Degradation, and Blindness & Regeneration. 

Previous Astellas Future Innovator Prize winners include Tipping Point Biosciences and Altay Therapeutics, chosen for the potential of their innovations to deliver therapeutic advances in oncology for unmet medical needs and their potential synergy with Astellas' Focus Area Approach.

For further information, please visit: https://www.astellas.com/en/astellasfutureinnovator.

About Astellas

Astellas is a global life sciences company committed to turning innovative science into VALUE for patients. We provide transformative therapies in disease areas that include oncology, ophthalmology, urology, immunology, and women's health. Through our research and development programs, we are pioneering new healthcare solutions for diseases with high unmet medical need. Learn more at www.astellas.com.

About MBC BioLabs

MBC BioLabs believes startups are the greatest force for positive change in the world. We offer flexible state-of-the-art lab space, facilities, access to millions of dollars in equipment and instrumentation, along with a vibrant community of like-minded individuals tackling some of the world's biggest problems. We are dedicated to helping biotech startups succeed – we enable awesome. We have helped launch and grow over 350 companies since opening in October of 2013, and together, MBC companies have initiated 176 clinical trials, introduced 71 products to market, and raised nearly $20 billion. https://mbcbiolabs.com/

About DeepSeq.AI

DeepSeq is revolutionizing AI-driven large molecule discovery by combining its innovative high-throughput wet lab assays with a custom, explainable generative LLM to design biologics optimized across multiple functions. Our platform generates massive-scale labeled protein data and models protein "grammar", enabling rapid development of therapeutics with optimized "conditional" binding, manufacturability, efficacy, safety, and PK/PD. Our approach is accelerating IND timelines by 10x and reducing costs by 50%. DeepSeq is trusted by Genentech and Gilead, backed by NSF and DARPA grants, and funded by Merck DSS, Berkeley SkyDeck, and prominent life sciences investors. Our team brings decades of pharma and AI expertise, supported by world-class advisors driving our mission forward. https://www.deepseq.ai/

About Serna Bio

Serna Bio is an AI-enabled drug discovery company developing small molecules to upregulate protein translation by selectively targeting functional RNA structures. The Serna Bio end-to-end platform spans target discovery to AI-enabled chemical optimisation & screening assays. The target discovery engine is an RNA Atlas: the world's largest knowledge base of experimentally validated, functional RNA structures for rapid motif discovery. The Chemistry Platform includes proprietary splicing and translational libraries, and a generative chemistry platform trained on proprietary data that designs selective RNA-binding small molecules. Combined with our proprietary chemi-transcriptomics screening platform, we can rapidly discover selective, small molecules that can modulate RNA function. https://www.serna.bio/

Cautionary Notes (Astellas)

In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties. Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.

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SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.