Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan; President and CEO: Gyo Sagara; “ONO”) announced that its subsidiary, michiteku Co., Ltd. (“michiteku”) has entered into a stock transfer agreement with K4 Ventures GK^*, a Kansai Electric Power Group company to acquire all the shares of Nekojitadou Inc. (“Nekojitadou”). Nekojitadou will become a wholly owned subsidiary of michiteku on July 31, 2023.

K4 Ventures GK is an investment entity for the Kansai Electric Power Group to strengthen collaboration with venture companies with innovative technologies and business models.

1. Reason for share acquisition
 In order to provide services to as many cancer patients and their families as possible, while making the best use of the experience and know-how, etc. that we have cultivated in research and development (R&D) in the oncology and immunology fields, ONO established michiteku, its own subsidiary, to promote new business through an organization independent from the R&D and marketing of pharmaceutical products in the company.
 With the vision of "creating a world where everyone is not afraid of getting cancer," michiteku has developed information processing and information provision service business in the healthcare field, and is committed to addressing the challenges cancer patients face, including physical, mental, and psychological issues.
 On the other hand, Nekojitadou was commercialized based on the entrepreneur's own experience as a nurse, experiences of cancer patients, and opinions of people who have met the same circumstances, and has developed a business such as sales of cutlery designed mainly for people who have experienced cancer.

 We believe that the joining of Nekojitadou to our Group Company, michiteku will further contribute to solving social issues surrounding cancer patients, also from the perspective of improving QOL (quality of life) in regard to dietary intake, which is a problem for many cancer patients due to cancer surgery and treatment.

2. Future outlook
 An impact of this matter on the Company’s business results for the current fiscal year would be marginal. Should there be any events to be disclosed in the future, we will announce them in a timely manner.

<Outline of michiteku Co., Ltd.>

<Outline of Nekojitadou Inc.>