The company, founded in 2015, has developed water-soluble derivatives of astaxanthin into APIs. In animal models, effects were seen in osteoarthritis of the knee, cerebral infarction, heart failure, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis etc.. Natural astaxanthin has stronger singlet oxygen erasing power than other carotenoids, and because it has an activity to suppress chronic inflammation, it might become a drug with a different mechanism of action than others.
Nikkei Biotech news release, August 27, 2018
Asta Pharmaceuticals, as subsidiary of Fuji Chemical, develops APIs from astaxanthin