Advanced Medical

As Japan's population ages, there is a growing need to extend a healthy life expectancy through anti-aging therapies.
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a substance that is naturally synthesized in the body but decreases with age, and thus is a factor that contributes to the aging process. Sirtuin genes have been shown to depend on NAD+ to prevent aging. We are engaged in the contract manufacturing of research reagents for the prevention of aging focusing on nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a precursor of NAD+. We also undertake the contract manufacturing of research reagents for high-concentration vitamin C therapy, which is expected to prevent aging by inhibiting oxidative stress. We are also leveraging our in-house strengths to screen new anti-aging substances and to conduct research and development activities on liposomal supplements.

Anticancer drug therapy is widely used to improve patient survival rates. However, problems of side effects and resistance to treatment have emerged. In addition, some patients are unable to receive treatment under existing Japanese insurance policies. For these patients, the development of new treatment methods is an urgent issue.
Gene therapy is expected to be combined with cancer gene mutation analysis to enable the formulation of personalized treatment plans. Furthermore, since gene therapy does not cause serious side effects, it is attracting attention as an alternative therapy for patients suffering from side effects of anticancer drug treatment or for patients who cannot be treated with existing Japanese insurance therapies.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment method that selectively damages only tumor tissue without affecting normal tissue by inducing cancer cells to take up a light-sensitive substance and then irradiating them with light. Since the irradiated light has no cytotoxic effect, PDT is considered to be a treatment without serious side effects.
Since a certain level of therapeutic efficacy has been achieved in clinical trials, PDT is expected to become a treatment method following surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and cancer immunotherapy. Against this background, we have been engaged in the research and development of PDT since its inception, and have accumulated achievements not only in cell and animal experiments but also in clinical trials. Based on the knowledge and experience we have accumulated, we can provide our customers with the liposomes, micelles, and other macromolecular processing of novel light-sensitive substances.

Tumor tissue is said to have an increased vascular permeability compared to normal tissue. As a result, macromolecules of 20-200 nm in size tend to leak out of blood vessels and have a reduced ability to be excreted into lymph vessels. This is called the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. In the field of drug delivery systems (DDS), research utilizing this phenomenon is being actively conducted. In collaboration with various medical institutions and research institutes, we are working on the research and development of anti-cancer drugs that effectively act on cancers but without side effects through the utilization of liposomes and micelles. We are also focusing on the tumor microenvironment, and are researching drugs that improve tumor stroma and specifically act on cytotoxic T cells.

In recent years, vector-based gene therapy has been attracting attention in the treatment of cancers caused by genetic mutations. In particular, lung cancers such as non-small cell lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma have a high mortality rate, and the development of new treatment methods is urgently needed.
Therefore, we are developing a minimally invasive and orally inhalable powdered gene preparation for lung cancer treatment by combining a cancer suppressor gene with a dry powder that can deliver the active ingredient directly to the lungs. In collaboration with research institutions, cell and animal studies have shown that the powdered gene product may be effective against non-small cell lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma. In the future, we plan to conduct clinical trials on human subjects, with the ultimate goal of its commercialization as a new gene therapy for lung cancer that can be administered by patients themselves.