Agreement on Investment in Retina Institute Japan, K.K.
August 6, 2013
Nikon Corporation (Makoto Kimura, President) is pleased to announce Nikon signed an agreement to invest in Retina Institute Japan, K.K. (Tadahisa Kagimoto, President and CEO; hereafter, RIJ) today.
Under the agreement, Nikon will subscribe for 500 million yen of third-party allotment of shares issued by RIJ and collaborate to find the way of practical use of the medical treatment for age-related macular degeneration, which RIJ has been working on the world first case of the regenerative medicine using iPS cell technology, utilizing Nikon's own core technology in optics and imaging.
RIJ is one of the RIKEN (Ryoji Noyori, President) ventures and aims to develop a new remedy for age-related macular degeneration by transplantation of retinal pigment epithelial cells derived from iPS cells, based on the license of the patent on the iPS cell technology developed by RIKEN. Moreover, both parties aim for further developments of technologies such as photo receptor transplantation, retinal regenerative medicine and diagnostic methods in order to make current refractory retinal diseases treatable.
Regenerative medicine using iPS cell technology needs standardization of quality control and safety evaluation in the cell production process before the treatment gets ready for practical use. Nikon will utilize its own optical technologies and accumulated imaging know-how to address this challenge.
Hereafter Nikon will exclusively discuss with RIJ how the production process of the iPS cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells can be controlled by use of image analysis technique.
Nikon has stated it heads for generating new businesses in health and medical fields in its Medium Term Management Plan. Through this collaboration with RIJ, Nikon is committed to contribute to development of regenerative medicine by using iPS cells and accelerates creating the groundwork for new business in future regenerative medicine field.
Overview of Retina Institute Japan, K.K.
| Location | Fukuoka, Japan |
|---|---|
| President & CEO | Tadahisa Kagimoto, MD |
| Date of establishment | February 24, 2011 |
| Stock market | Unlisted |
The information is current as of the date of publication. It is subject to change without notice.