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Maruho and RaQualia Enter License Agreement for Selective Sodium Channel Blocker

Nagoya and Osaka (Japan), December 25, 2017 - RaQualia Pharma Inc. ("RaQualia", Head Office: Nagoya, Japan, President and CEO: Naoki Tani) and Maruho Co., Ltd. ("Maruho", Head Office: Osaka, Japan, President and CEO: Koichi Takagi) announced that the two companies entered into a worldwide license agreement with exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize a selective sodium channel blocker (hereinafter "the compound") created by RaQualia.

Under this agreement, Maruho will pay RaQualia an upfront payment, development milestone payments, and sales royalties.

Sodium channels are expressed in muscle and nervous tissues and are known to transmit sensations such as pain and itch. The compound is expected to provide new treatment options alleviating symptoms such as pain and itch by selectively blocking the function of a specific type of sodium channel.

The two companies came to this agreement because RaQualia's development strengths in the technology of ion channel drug discovery matched up with Maruho's intention to pursue the creation of novel therapeutic drugs containing the compound as an active ingredient.

RaQualia and Maruho will continue to contribute to the improvement of quality of life in patients by providing new therapeutic treatment options.



About RaQualia
RaQualia Pharma Inc. has its research headquarters in Nagoya, Japan and is a research and development-based pharmaceutical company whose aim is to create new pharmaceutical products with cutting-edge science and technology focusing on medical fields where patients have the greatest need. We create development compounds, the seeds for new drugs, via an open collaboration network which we have designed. We then deliver valuable new treatments to patients by licensing these compounds to partners who in turn bring that innovation to market.
For more information, please visit http://www.raqualia.com/

About Maruho
Maruho Co., Ltd. has its headquarters in Osaka and leads Japan in research and development, manufacturing and commercialization of dermatological products. Founded in 1915, Maruho has 1,459 employees (as of the end of September 2017), and net sales were approximately 79.95 billion yen in its 2017 fiscal year. Pursuing its long-term corporate vision of "Excellence in Dermatology," Maruho is striving to improve the health and quality of life of people all over the world.
For more information, please visit https://www.maruho.co.jp/english/

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