14-7 Novo Nordisk takes license from Heartseed Japan for iPS-derived cardiomyocytes
Heartseed has granted Novo the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and sell HS-001, regenerated cardiomyocytes derived from heterologous iPS cells in the world except Japan. In Japan, Heartseed will continue to develop the product independently, while retaining the rights to develop, manufacture and market it. After obtaining approval, Heartseed will market the product jointly with Novo’s Japanese subsidiary. License fees may add up to up to 65.5 billion yen (500 million €). In the second half of 2021, HeartSeed plans to start a domestic Phase 1/2 clinical trial (LAPiS trial) for severe heart failure caused by ischemic heart disease as a corporate trial.
Nikkei Biotech news release, July 14, 2021
18-5 Researchers at CiRA develop transform universal iPS cells for allogenic T-cell-based cancer immunotherapy
A research group led by Professor Shin KANEKO at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, have developed a universal iPS cell in which multiple genes were modified by genome editing, e. g., by knocking out the PVR gene related to the...
30-4 Sanatec starts to distribute free seedlings of genome-edited “Sicilian Rouge High GABA” tomatos
Sanatec Seeds, a venture spin-out of the Japan’s University of Tsukuba, is the first company in the world to commercialize genome-edited tomatoes, "Sicilian Rouge High GABA" "Sicilian Rouge High GABA" is a strain (variety registration pending) that contains four to...
31-3 Will artificial intelligence help us to healthier intestinal microbiomes?
AuB, a Tokyo startup whose president Keita Suzuki is a former member of Japan’s national soccer team, has analyzed the stool of over 700 athletes and analyzed the type, number and composition of their intestinal bacteria, combined with information on eating...
14-4 RIKEN-industry consortium tailors E. coli by synthetic biology to produce 1,3-butadiene from glucose
The team of Yutaro MORI at RIKEN, in collaboration with Yokohama Rubber and ZEON Co., has developed a technology to produce 1,3-butadiene from glucose by recombinant Escherichia coli. Butadiene is currently produced at 12 million t/y worldwide and over 1 million t/y...
2-12 Kyoto’s RITE: 500fold increase of catechol production by synthetic biology
The Research Institute for Innovative Technologies for the Earth (RITE) in Kansai Science City near Kyoto claims to have achieved a breakthrough in the microbial production of catechol, financially supported by METI’s project house NEDO within the “smart cell”...
7-12 NIKON and Tsukuba University analyze physiological state of microorganisms through autofluorescence signatures
Nikon has developed a confocal laser scanning microscope system which allows to analyze the physiological state of cells at high speed in a quantitative manner. The CRIF method (for Confocal Reflection microscopy-assisted single-cell Innate Fluorescence) acquires...
17-2 Shimadzu developed technology to analyze cell metabolites at high speed and with high accuracy
In collaboration with Kobe University and with support of NEDO, the project house of METI, Shimadzu has developed a "Biotransformer Extraction Total System" that can analyze 186 types of water-soluble cell metabolites at once, and a "Metabolome High-throughput...
17-2 Kobe University installs „smart cell” pilot lab
In this pilot lab, supported by funds from NEDO; smart cells can be developed in less than one-fifth of the conventional time by combining proprietary long-chain DNA synthesis technology, high-throughput recombination technology, and high-speed, high-precision cell...
18-2 Hokkaido Mitsui Chemicals produces taxan intermediate by plant-cell culture in 800 l bag reactor
Using undifferentiated plant cells from the Yew tree (Genera taxus), Hokkaido Mitsui Chemicals has developed an 800 L single-use bag reactor for their cultivation. In order to prevent the slowly propagating cells from settling down, a special tube was installed...
25-2 Asahi Kasei Pharma achieves high-yield production of diagnostic enzyme cholesterol esterase using “smart cell” concepts
The enzyme, used for diagnostic assays of cholesterol in blood, is produced by Burkholderia stabilis from which it is secreted. By combining a novel constitutive promoter and functional modification of the host using genomic and expression control information, the...
Two Japanese groups challenge China’s licorice (glycyrrhizin) monopoly
Licorice root containing glycyrrhizin is the most prescribed crude drug in Chinese medicine, included in about 70% of Chinese herbs. It is also used in Kanpo, Japan’s equivalent of TCM. Glycyrrhizin extracted from licorice is 150 to 300 times sweeter than sugar, used...
Japanese Noster Co. commercializes functional fatty acid which suppresses postprandial glucose levels
The product, 10-hydroxy-cis-12-octadecenoic acid (HYA®), had originally been detected as a metabolite of dietary lipids and fatty acids by intestinal bacteria by the group of Jun OGAWA at Kyoto University. Further research at Nitto Pharmaceutical Co. had shown that...