FRONTEO Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Masahiro Morimoto, hereinafter FRONTEO) is a molecular genetics laboratory at Nippon Medical School (located in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) and a herpes virus (HSV) vector.^{* 1}We are pleased to announce that we have started joint research on building a prediction model using natural language processing AI for the construction and functional analysis of .

　The laboratory is working on the development of novel therapeutic HSV vectors targeting neurological diseases and tumors^{1, 2, 3)}.Currently, HSV is a gene therapy vector and an oncolytic virus.^{* 2}However, due to the extremely large genome size, it is difficult to experimentally identify which genes/elements are involved in infectivity and oncolytic activity.Therefore, it is not easy to improve the function of HSV vectors, and the challenge is that it requires a great deal of time and effort for research and development.

　In this joint research, FRONTEO will analyze article information and open source genetic data using in-house developed natural language processing AI technology to build a simultaneous optimization prediction model for infectivity and oncolytic.Furthermore, Nippon Medical School aims to establish a new optimized HSV vector by conducting experimental verification of the prediction results.

　The impact of this matter alone on the business results for the current fiscal year is minor, but we will promptly notify you if there are any matters to be disclosed.

*1 Viral vector: A virus-based vector that carries genetic material into cells.It is used to efficiently introduce foreign genes into cultured cells and living target cells.
*2 Oncolytic virus: A virus that targets cancer cells, infects them, proliferates, and destroys or kills them.

1) Innovative cancer gene therapy modeling and oncolytic mechanism elucidation using advanced organoid technology, https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-21H03828/
2) Development of oncolytic herpesvirus vector using pancreatic cancer organoid model, https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-21K15986/
3) Construction of a permanent therapeutic gene delivery system using a modified herpesvirus LAT expression system, https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-19K22505/

■ About FRONTEO　URL:https://www.fronteo.com/
FRONTEO uses in-house developed AI engines "KIBIT", "Concept Encoder" and "Looca Cross" that specialize in natural language processing. We are a data analysis company that extracts meaningful and important information from vast amounts of text data to support corporate businesses. Since its founding in August 2003, it has been operating globally in Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Taiwan, with a focus on legal tech businesses such as "e-discovery (electronic discovery)" and "digital forensic investigation" that support international corporate litigation. has been developed.Based on the AI ​​technology cultivated in this business, since 8 we have expanded our business fields to life science, business intelligence, and economic security. We contribute to solving various problems of companies, such as drug discovery support, dementia diagnosis support, and financial/personnel/sales support. June 2014, 2007 Listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers (currently Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth). In January 6, we acquired the first-class medical device manufacturing and sales license (license number: 26B2021X1), and in September of the same year, we submitted a controlled medical device sales business (report number: 13 Minato Misei device No. 1).Capital 10350 thousand yen (as of March 9, 3).

* FRONTEO, KIBIT, conceptencoder, and Looca Cross are registered trademarks of FRONTEO in Japan.