Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Chugai Pharmaceutical reported consolidated net profit for the cumulative first half of the fiscal year ending December 2026 rose 19.2% year-on-year to 231.7 billion yen. For the April–June quarter, consolidated net profit increased 19.7% year-on-year to 116.3 billion yen, with the operating profit margin on sales unchanged from the previous year's 47.1% at 47.1%.

In the Tokyo stock market morning session, the Nikkei average plunged sharply, ending at 64,568.75 yen, down 2.79% from the previous business day. In addition to the previous day's decline in U.S. stocks, uncertainty over the Middle East situation and new tariffs set to be imposed by the Trump administration on the 24th weighed on sentiment, with the index briefly falling 3.14% to 64,334.29 yen. U.S. WTI crude oil futures traded in the 91-dollar range, and amid a global risk-off mood, the TOPIX ended the morning session down 1.01% at 4,012.79 points, while trading value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market reached 4.336145 trillion yen. Among major stocks, SoftBank Group fell over 7% and Kioxia Holdings dropped over 9%, while Chugai Pharmaceutical rose over 3%. On the individual front, Disco, which announced earnings the previous day, topped the decliners list with a drop of over 14%, while KOA, which announced upward revisions and a dividend increase, surged over 10% to rank second on the gainers list.

Gero, a physics-first AI drug discovery company focused on aging, announced $17 million in new financing, bringing its total equity funding to $34 million. The company previously secured a collaboration with Chugai Pharmaceutical, a member of the Roche Group, which includes an upfront payment and up to $250 million in milestones plus royalties. Gero uses a physics-based framework and AI trained on approximately 10 million curated longitudinal medical records to identify therapeutic targets that slow aging and treat age-related diseases. The new funding will support preclinical development of its pipeline and expansion of pharmaceutical partnerships, with participation from Melnichek Investments and other investors from the AI and pharma sectors.