April 28, 2017
SBI Holdings, Inc. (head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President & CEO: Yoshitaka Kitao; hereinafter "SBI Holdings") and Keio University's Keio Research Institute at SFC (location: Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture; Director: Yoshinori Iimori) are pleased to announce the launch of a joint research project on the ameliorating effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) on age-related diseases.
To promote advanced research through industry-academia collaboration, Keio University's Keio Research Institute at SFC established the "Laboratory (Lab)" system in 2001 for research groups with advanced research missions. Now, the Health Science Laboratory (representatives: Kazuo Tsubota, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, and Mitsuhiro Watanabe, Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University), which promotes research in the "Health" field with an eye toward social application to lead Japan as a country with a leading longevity, and SBI Holdings, Inc. will conduct joint research as the "Keio-SBI ALA Laboratory."
Going forward, the Keio-SBI ALA Laboratory will advance research on the ameliorating effects of ALA on age-related diseases. ALA is an amino acid produced in the body's mitochondria and is an important substance that serves as a raw material for functional molecules involved in energy production, such as heme and cytochromes. However, its productivity is known to decline with age. Currently, basic research on ALA for pharmaceuticals aimed at treating various diseases is progressing. It is also used as an ingredient in health foods and cosmetics, and the elucidation of ALA's physiological functions and its application in a wide variety of fields are attracting significant attention.
SBI Holdings believes that ALA has potential for wide-ranging applications in the pharmaceutical, health food, and cosmetics fields. Through its subsidiary SBI Pharma Co., Ltd., it is advancing the research and development of pharmaceuticals, health foods, and cosmetics using ALA both in Japan and overseas. It is also developing Foods with Function Claims through SBI ALApromo Co., Ltd.
Through anti-aging medical research on ALA, SBI Holdings and Keio University's Keio Research Institute at SFC will continue to explore the various possibilities of ALA to contribute to the health of as many people as possible around the world.
[Overview of the Joint Research]
Location: Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) (Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture)
Research Topic: "Promotion of Anti-Aging Medical Research with Aminolevulinic Acid (ALA)"
Researchers in Charge: Mitsuhiro Watanabe (Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University)
Toru Tanaka (Representative Director, Executive Vice President, SBI Pharma Co., Ltd.)
Masahiro Ishizuka (Director, Senior Executive Officer, SBI Pharma Co., Ltd.)
Activity Name: Keio-SBI ALA Laboratory
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Inquiries regarding this press release:
SBI Holdings, Inc. Corporate Communications Department
TEL: 03-6229-0126
Office of Research Development and Sponsored Projects at Shonan Fujisawa Campus, Keio University
TEL: 0466-49-3436
E-mail: kri-pr@sfc.keio.ac.jp
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Source: Office of Research Development and Sponsored Projects at Shonan Fujisawa Campus