We are a drug discovery bio-venture originated from Asahikawa Medical University, established based on the research of Professor Mikihiro Fujiya’s group, Division of Metabolism and Biosystemic Science, Gastroenterology, and Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Asahikawa Medical University.
We were founded in April 2018 after inheriting research from Asahikawa Medical University and Sapporo Holdings Co., Ltd. on the "development of novel therapeutic agents for inflammatory bowel disease using probiotic-derived long-chain polyphosphoric acid".
We are conducting research and development of candidate substances for new therapeutic agents utilizing probiotic-derived bioactive substances in the gastrointestinal and anticancer fields.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a general term for diseases of unknown cause that cause chronic inflammation or ulceration of the mucosa of the large and small intestines, and is broadly classified into two main categories: ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
In Japan, it is designated as an intractable disease and causes symptoms such as diarrhea, bloody stools, and abdominal pain. The peak age of onset between 25 and 30 years old, with the largest number of patients in their 30s, and patients of all ages, young and old, male and female, are seen. In 2014, there were approximately 180,000 patients with ulcerative colitis in Japan, and the number of patients with both diseases continues to increase.
Currently, anti-inflammatory drugs are the main treatment for IBD, but many cases relapse.
In recent years, it has become clear that the goal of IBD treatment is "mucosal healing" rather than symptom remission, but there is still no direct mucosal healing accelerator.
The world's first "mucosal healing" by enhancing
"intestinal barrier function"
“Long-chain polyphosphoric acid”, a candidate substance for a new drug that we are mainly developing, is a substance identified from Lactobacillus brevis SBC8803 (SBL88), which was discovered by Sapporo Breweries, Ltd. The long-chain polyphosphate secreted by SBL88 enhances the barrier function, as revealed for the first time in the world through joint research by Asahikawa Medical University and Sapporo Breweries, Ltd.
“Long-chain polyphosphate” has a unique physiological activity that enhances the intestinal barrier function, acting on the intestinal epithelium to protect and repair damaged mucosa.
We have focused on "long-chain polyphosphoric acid" with these characteristics and are conducting research and development of it as a new IBD therapeutic drug candidate that induces mucosal healing.
Research and development of new anti-tumor agents with
fewer adverse events
Anticancer drug therapy for elderly patients, especially those with comorbidities, is unsatisfied, and the development of anticancer drugs that can be administered long-term with fewer adverse events is desired. Cancer-inhibitory effects have been reported for some probiotics, but have not yet been translated into clinical applications.
Ferrichrome, an anti-tumor bioactive substance identified from a type of lactic acid bacteria, has unique properties: it has strong anti-tumor activity but is not cytotoxic to normal mucosal epithelial cells.
We have focused on these characteristics and are conducting research and development as a new anti-tumor drug candidate with fewer side effects.
