MGC invests in three companies to accelerate medical business development

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. (MGC; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Toshikiyo Kurai) has invested in three companies engaging in medical business development.

In recent years, medical industry is paying increasing attention to sophisticated technologies that improve the quality of medical care and quality of life. For example, rapid diagnosis facilitates for early treatment/care, while regenerative medicine makes it possible to eliminate the very cause of the disease or injury in question by reproducing tissues and organs using cells and tissues cultured in vitro. The market for such techniques is expected to grow rapidly in the future.

Precise forming technology is required to reduce the size and increase the functionality of test/diagnosis devices used for rapid diagnosis. Expecting to fully leverage its chemical and material expertise in this field, MGC is investing in CONSONAL BIOTECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd., Japan's largest comprehensive research institution “RIKEN” certified venture, and WhiteSpace Enterprise Corporation, a venture created from innovation at the University of Arizona to conduct research and development of biomolecular technologies with a view to entering the market in the future.

Also, MGC’s investment in NC Medical Research, Inc., a research and development specialist in regenerative medicine, is to survey opportunities to create a business using MGC technology in the field.

Under its Medium-term Management Plan “MGC Advance2020”, MGC defines the medical/food field as one of five target fields of business to focus on. In connection with medical, MGC has a broad range of products and technologies including oxygen absorbers for medicine and medical equipment, multilayered plastic containers for medical use, and techniques related to antibody and nucleic acid medicines. The investments in the three companies will help MGC develop its medical/food field even further.

＜Investment Overview＞

1. CONSONAL BIOTECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd.

*Note: Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are conditions caused by hypersensitive immune reactions to substances such as pollen and food ingredients. Typical allergic symptoms include runny noses, diarrhea and hives. These immune reactions are caused when allergic substances combine with antibodies.
The traditional blood testing of allergies addresses the reaction that antibodies from the patient develop in an allergen extract (solution containing the allergic substance). The drawback is that the complexity of the process by which the symptom appears can prevent the test results from correctly reflecting the symptom.

MGC and CONSONAL BIOTECHNOLOGIES have developing the test chip which divides the sample allergen into fragments and identifies the part of the allergen that combines with antibodies. The new test chip facilitates rapid testing and provides highly accurate information using a small amount of blood and can therefore be used to test small children. MGC’s material and forming technology helps stable performance and the possibility of mass-production.

▼Test Flow

2. WHITESPACE ENTERPRISE Corporation

3. NC Medical Research, Inc.

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