JITSUBO

What JITSUBO does

JITSUBO is a Japanese peptide synthesis technology company founded in 2005 and headquartered at the Life Science Research Center in Tsurumi, Yokohama, with approximately 15 employees. The company's core asset is Molecular Hiving™, a proprietary tag-assisted liquid-phase peptide synthesis technology invented by Professor Kazuhiro Chiba at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and exclusively licensed to JITSUBO. The platform uses hydrophobic benzyl alcohol or amine tags to keep peptide intermediates soluble in homogeneous reaction solvents, enabling one-pot continuous elongation with claimed 99% per-step yield, 1/10th organic solvent consumption, and 1/4th amino acid and coupling reagent usage compared to traditional solid-phase methods; UHPLC and TLC in-process controls achieve 0.05% impurity detection. JITSUBO also markets Peptune™, a peptide modification technology for improving drug properties.

JITSUBO operates a dual business model combining custom peptide CDMO services with technology licensing. Direct contract manufacturing covers manufacturing process development (route exploration, optimization, impurity synthesis), analytical method development, and API production from research samples through investigational drug material for clinical trials. On the licensing side, the company has granted two exclusive global manufacturing licenses: to Bachem AG (Switzerland, May 2020) for worldwide peptide API production and to Novo Nordisk A/S (Denmark, June 2023) specifically for the diabetes, obesity, and related therapeutic area — directly tying royalty exposure to the high-growth GLP-1 peptide drug market. Revenue also includes technical support and consulting services; pricing is quote-based on peptide length (2–40mer), purity, and quantity, with no public price list.

JITSUBO has been through two corporate ownership changes: it became a consolidated subsidiary of Sosei Group Corporation in December 2014, received venture capital co-investment in November 2016 (including Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, MSIVC, SMBC Venture Capital, Universal Materials Incubator, and World Innovation Lab), and was acquired in April 2021 by SPERA PHARMA, Inc. (a 100% subsidiary of IWAKI & Co. within the Astena Holdings group), making JITSUBO a wholly-owned subsidiary of SPERA PHARMA. The technology is protected by granted patents across the USA, EU, Japan, China, and India, and the company has held ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification since July 2021. Leadership combines deep Japanese pharma CMC pedigree — CEO Hideya Mizufune (30+ years at Takeda), CTO/board director Ichiro Shima (Fujisawa/Astellas medicinal chemistry background), and EVP/CSO Kiichiro Ohya.

Name

JITSUBO

Legal name

JITSUBO株式会社

Website

https://jitsubo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

JITSUBO is a Yokohama-based peptide synthesis technology company that licenses its proprietary Molecular Hiving™ liquid-phase peptide synthesis platform to global CDMO Bachem AG and Novo Nordisk for diabetes and obesity peptide API production. It also provides custom peptide CDMO services to pharmaceutical clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Peptide API Contract Manufacturing

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (32541), Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Small-Molecule API & Intermediates CDMO (HLAGABAA)

Keywords

• Peptide contract manufacturing
• Peptide API synthesis
• CDMO services
• Pharmaceutical peptide development
• Custom peptide synthesis

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Peptide Synthesis Contract Manufacturing: Contract manufacturing of peptide APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) from research samples through clinical trial materials (investigational drugs). Manufacturing process development services including route optimization, impurity synthesis, and analytical method development.
2. Technology Licensing: Licensing of Molecular Hiving™ technology to pharmaceutical partners for peptide manufacturing. Receives development fees and royalties from exclusive licensees like Bachem AG and Novo Nordisk.
3. Technical Support Services: Technical consulting and support services for peptide synthesis, analytical method development, and process optimization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

JITSUBO is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in peptide active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) synthesis using its proprietary Molecular Hiving™ tag-assisted liquid-phase peptide synthesis technology. The company offers contract manufacturing services from research-stage samples through clinical trial investigational drugs, including manufacturing process development (route exploration, optimization, impurity synthesis) and analytical method development. JITSUBO also licenses its Molecular Hiving™ technology to global pharmaceutical partners such as Bachem AG and Novo Nordisk for commercial-scale production.

Product overview

JITSUBO is a peptide pharmaceutical API research and development company offering a portfolio centered on its proprietary Molecular Hiving™ tag-assisted liquid-phase peptide synthesis technology and Peptune™ peptide modification technology. The core Molecular Hiving™ technology enables cost-efficient, environmentally friendly synthesis of 2-40mer peptides ranging from linear to complex cyclic structures. JITSUBO provides contract manufacturing services for peptide APIs from research samples through clinical trial material, including manufacturing process development, analytical method development, and technical support. The company operates under SPERA PHARMA Inc. (Astena Holdings group) and holds exclusive licensing agreements with Bachem AG and Novo Nordisk.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Molecular Hiving™ Technology Tag-assisted Liquid-Phase Peptide Synthesis technology using hydrophobic tags (benzyl alcohol or amine derivatives) to enable homogeneous reaction mixtures while supporting one-pot procedures and scalable manufacturing of 2-40mer peptides for pharmaceutical API production.
• Peptune™ Peptide Modification Technology

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% yield per elongation step
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, significant and supporting.

• Novo Nordisk A/ScoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 15 June 2023Exclusive manufacturing license agreement granting Novo Nordisk rights to use and manufacture peptides using JITSUBO's Molecular Hiving™ technology for products in the field of diabetes, obesity, and related therapeutic areas. This is a flagship commercial partnership for weight loss and diabetes peptide drug manufacturing.
• SPERA PHARMA, Inc. (Iwaki & Co., Ltd.)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 7 April 2021JITSUBO became 100% subsidiary of SPERA PHARMA through acquisition by Iwaki & Co., Ltd. SPERA PHARMA is part of ASTENA Holdings group, providing CMC R&D contract services. Enables expanded total solution services through group's diversified manufacturing capabilities.
• Bachem AGcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 8 May 2020Exclusive global licensing agreement for Molecular Hiving™ technology. JITSUBO develops selected manufacturing processes and transfers to Bachem, who further optimizes, scales up, and produces for commercial applications. JITSUBO receives development fees and royalties. Bachem presented the technology at TIDES USA 2025.
• Neuland Health Sciences Private LimitedmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2018Memorandum of understanding signed for comprehensive partnership in peptide API research, development, and commercial manufacturing. India's Neuland group, listed on stock exchange, specializes in peptide API R&D and manufacturing.
• Heptares Therapeutics (Sosei Group Corporation)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2016Peptide drug discovery collaboration initiated with Heptares Therapeutics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sosei Group Corporation. Leverages JITSUBO's peptide synthesis capabilities and Heptares' drug discovery expertise.
• DS Pharma Animal Health Co., Ltd.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2016Co-development and commercialization agreement for animal health product related to animal species ghrelin. JITSUBO contributes its Molecular Hiving™ technology for peptide synthesis in veterinary pharmaceutical development.
• Sekisui Medical Co., Ltd.significantStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2011Joint development contract to commercialize GMP-compliant peptide manufacturing methods using Molecular Hiving™ technology. Part of JITSUBO's early efforts to establish commercial-scale peptide production capability.
• SPERA NEXUS, Inc.supportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJoint exhibition partner with SPERA PHARMA and JITSUBO at CPHI Japan 2023. Both SPERA PHARMA and SPERA NEXUS are part of Astena Holdings group.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PeptiDream Inc. Japan-based peptide discovery and development company using a proprietary non-standard peptide discovery platform. Comparable as a Japanese-headquartered peptide technology company addressing therapeutic peptide markets through novel chemistry approaches.
• PolyPeptide Group: Pure-play peptide CDMO offering custom synthesis of peptide APIs from research to commercial scale. Directly competes for the same peptide API manufacturing customers and programs that JITSUBO and its licensees serve.
• Bachem AG: Global leader in peptide CDMO manufacturing and JITSUBO's exclusive global license partner since 2020. Bachem is also the closest direct comparable as a peptide API manufacturer, and is the channel through which JITSUBO's Molecular Hiving™ technology reaches commercial scale.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Patheon CDMO): Diversified CDMO with peptide and small-molecule API capabilities within its pharma services segment. Serves large pharma customers with end-to-end development and manufacturing services overlapping JITSUBO's value chain.
• Lonza Group AG: World's largest CDMO with significant peptide and biologics manufacturing capabilities. Competes in the broader CDMO market for peptide API programs and serves the same large-pharma customer base as JITSUBO's licensees.
• CordenPharma International: Full-service CDMO with dedicated peptide manufacturing capabilities across API and drug product. Overlaps with JITSUBO's contract peptide development and manufacturing offerings for pharma customers.
• WuXi AppTec: Large global CRO/CDMO with peptide and oligonucleotide manufacturing services. Competes for peptide CDMO contracts and serves many of the same global pharmaceutical customers.

Others

• CEM Corporation: Manufacturer of peptide synthesis instruments and microwave-assisted synthesis technology. Adjacent enabler of peptide manufacturing rather than a direct competitor, but its tools compete for adoption alongside JITSUBO's process innovations.

Emerging players

• GenScript Biotech: Biotechnology services company offering custom peptide synthesis alongside its broader life-science research services and cell therapy manufacturing. Competes in custom peptide manufacturing and serves biotech and pharma discovery-stage customers.
• Ambiopharm Inc. US-based peptide CDMO focused on custom peptide API manufacturing for generic and innovator peptide drugs. Competes for peptide API contract manufacturing customers, particularly in the generic peptide space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jitsubo

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about JITSUBO