SPARX : Mirai Creation Fund III (three) Invests in ProteoBridge, a Developer of high-density protein microarrays for autoantibody validation

The following is an English version of the official Japanese announcement, which has been given to the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the media in Tokyo, Japan.

June 30, 2022

For Immediate Release

SPARX Group Co., Ltd.

President and Group CEO Shuhei Abe

(Code: 8739, TSE Prime Market)

Mirai Creation Fund III (three) Invests in ProteoBridge, a Developer of high-density

protein microarrays for autoantibody validation

-Taking another step toward wellness

by propagating the autoantibody test for evaluating overall health-

TOKYO-June 30, 2022-SPARX Group Co., Ltd. (SPARX; TSE Prime: 8739:) today announced that its Mirai Creation Fund III (three) -established in October 2021-has executed an investment (180 million JPY) in ProteoBridge Inc., a startup firm which provides solution to social and medical problems through its novel protein microarray. It detects14,000 human autoantibodies semi-quantitatively. ProteoBridge intends to utilize the raised capital to accelerate expansion of target diseases for A-Cube, a laboratory diagnostic system, and development of "Antibody Doc", a new optional examination of medical checkup.

Portfolio Company Outline

ProteoBridge, with the vision of "Build a Proteome Bridge toward tomorrow", is a biotech venture company established as a spin-out from National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan. HuPEX® protein array licensed exclusively from AIST contains 14,000 human proteins spotted under the non-dry conditions. Therefore, antigen-antibody reaction in human body can be mimicked on the surface of the array. This cutting edge technology allows, with small amount of blood, more accurate and more comprehensive autoantibody detection which have not been fully accomplished by any other methods before. On December 2021, ProteoBridge launched the A-CubeTM test kit for scleroderma and myositis, which enables to measure 43 autoantibodies or 65 different autoantigens all at once. Furthermore, ProteoBridge has discovered several disease biomarkers in the external research collaboration with academic medical research institutes and pharmaceutical companies. ProteoBridge contributes to tomorrow's healthier society by expanding the assays' target diseases, increasing processing efficiency and establishing personal autoantibody data bases.

■ Mirai Creation Funds I, II, and III Summaries

Mirai Creation Funds I, II, and III Summaries The Mirai Creation Fund I began operations in November 2015 with financing of JPY 13.5 billion from three companies: Toyota Motor Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and SPARX, the Fund's general partner. Ultimately, the Fund received contributions from 20 companies, including the above three. Casting intelligent technologies, robotics, and hydrogen- economy technologies as vital to the future, Fund I has invested in approximately 50 companies and projects-from the US, the UK, Israel, Singapore, and Japan-that possess innovations in these fields. In H2 2018, SPARX began managing the Mirai Creation Fund II, which targets the three existing Mirai Creation fields along with the two additional areas of electrification and new materials. In October 2021, SPARX launched the Mirai Creation Fund III with SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of SPARX, acting as its fund manager, adding carbon neutrality to the five fields of the Mirai Creation Fund

1. As of May 31, 2022, the combined AUM for Funds I, II, and III were JPY 150.1 billion. Mirai Creation Fund investment track record:https://mirai.sparx.co.jp/en/investment /

• For inquiries related to this release, contact: Public Relations, SPARX Group Co., Ltd.
  Tel: [phone] / Fax: [phone] [e-mail]