SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Osaka; President and Representative Director: Teiji Koge; hereinafter, “SEKISUI CHEMICAL”) concluded a business cooperation agreement with Cyfuse Biomedical K.K. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Shizuka Akieda; hereinafter, “Cyfuse”), which develops, manufactures, and sells regenerative medicine-related products.
1. Background and Aims
SEKISUI CHEMICAL’s High Performance Plastics Company (President: Keita Kato) has positioned life sciences as one of its strategic areas, making efforts to expand its medical business carried out centrally by its 100% wholly-owned subsidiary, SEKISUI MEDICAL CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President and Representative Director: Hideo Tagashira; hereinafter, “SEKISUI MEDICAL”). SEKISUI MEDICAL, in the 5-year midterm management strategy “HIYAKU 2020”*1 which covers FY2016 through FY2020, positioned entering into new markets as one of its basic strategies, aiming to expand its drug development solutions business mainly in Europe and America. Using SEKISUI CHEMICAL’s consolidated subsidiary SEKISUI XENOTECH, LLC. as its base, it has been developing the drug development solutions business, mainly in Europe and America with the aim of expanding business by improving the capabilities of in-vitro testing*2 services and strengthening ties with SEKISUI MEDICAL’s Japan base.
The cooperation target company, Cyfuse, has its own three-dimensional cell accumulation technology for manufacturing three-dimensional tissues and organs without utilizing scaffolds*3 in the regenerative medicine field, aiming at the practical application of innovative cell products to osteochondral, blood vessel, and peripheral nerves etc. regeneration.
Cyfuse has also spread its basic technology in the drug development field by developing and selling its cell 3D printer Regenova®. In addition, it has developed three-dimensional hepatic structures with high hepatic function over the long term as testing tools for safety and toxicity evaluation in new drug development.
SEKISUI CHEMICAL has concluded the business cooperation agreement with Cyfuse with the aim of applying the hepatic structures which Cyfuse has developed to the drug development solutions business developed by SEKISUI MEDICAL. Additionally, through the cooperation, SEKISUI CHEMICAL plans to deepen knowledge, not only in the drug development solutions business, but also in the regenerative medicine area, in order to expand business operations in the life sciences field in the future.
SEKISUI CHEMICAL’s High Performance Plastics Company also continues to accelerate cooperation with ventures and academia to expand and strengthen its strategic areas and to promote similar business cooperation to explore new technologies and new businesses.
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*1 |
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*2 |
In-vitro testing: Drug reaction testing in an environment outside the body that is equivalent to that inside the body. |
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*3 |
Scaffold: Material which holds cell structures, accelerating cell proliferation. |
2. Summary of Cyfuse
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(1) |
Name |
Cyfuse Biomedical K.K. |
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(2) |
Headquarters |
The University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Plaza, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo |
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(3) |
CEO |
Shizuka Akieda |
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(4) |
Business |
Development and manufacturing of regenerative medicine-related products, development of drug development solution tools, and development and sale of devices. |
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(5) |
Established |
August 11, 2010 |
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(6) |
Website |
Disclaimer
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements due to changes in global economic, business, competitive market and regulatory factors.