Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group Invests in Myoridge,
a Japanese Startup Offering Innovative Products and Services for the Cell Culture Market
April 25, 2022
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group (MCHG) has invested in Myoridge Co. Ltd. (Myoridge: Head office: Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Prefecture; President: Naohiro Makita), a Japanese startup that sells cell culture media and offers design as a service for culture media recipes.
MCHG has been working in the field of peripheral materials used in cell cultures for regenerative medicine, drug discovery, biopharmaceuticals, and cultured food. Conventional cell culture media based on fetal bovine serum are expensive and present ethical issues, in addition to having unstable supply and risk of pathogen contamination. To overcome these issues, MCHG has been conducting research in plant-based growth factors for cell culture.
Myoridge is a Kyoto University spin-out company with technologies for developing culture media and producing iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes using the protein-free differentiation method. Myoridge offers bespoke culture medium development services through a proprietary database of culture media components and manufacturing process development support. The offerings of Myoridge – through research & development, products, and cell-focused services – go beyond the state-of-the-art in the cell culture market.
MCHG and Myoridge share a common interest in providing serum-free media. Through collaboration with Myoridge, MCHG will further strengthen the ability to tackle cell culture peripheral materials challenges and will develop plant-based growth factors and media for cell culture with stable functions and high quality required for clinical settings.
MCHG announced a new management policy "Forging the future" in December 2021, positioning healthcare and life science as strategic markets. MCHG aims to offer novel products in these markets and make the regenerative medicine approach safer for patients with difficult-to-treat diseases. In accomplishing these goals, MCHG will contribute to the realization of a society in which everyone can live healthy and active lives.
Comments by Naohiro Makita, CEO of Myoridge:
"Our mission is to create a healthier society through enabling high quality cell culture, a critical area in medical research. Through this alliance with MCHG, with its unique chemical technology for cell culture, we will make significant advances in our ability to serve cell-based developments in multiple industries."
Comments by Fumiko Uraki, Director, Venture Department, MCHG:
"We are very pleased to be able to deepen our collaborative relationship with Myoridge through this investment. Myoridge has deep knowledge of cell culture and development capabilities for cell culture-related products that meet the needs of customers. Cell culture will become an indispensable enabler for a wide range of fields including regenerative medicine, drug discovery and development, and food innovations. We will create new value through collaboration with Myoridge, strive for technological progress and business development in this field, and contribute to a sustainable future."
[ Overview of Myoridge Co. Ltd.]
Date of Establishment: August 10, 2016
Office Location: 46-29 Yoshidashimoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
Representative: Naohiro Makita, CEO
Business Description: Sales of cell products and culture medium, Culture medium development support, Development support for base materials, operation methods, and equipment with a bird’s eye view of the entire process
Company Website: https://myoridge.co.jp/en/
MCHG has been working in the field of peripheral materials used in cell cultures for regenerative medicine, drug discovery, biopharmaceuticals, and cultured food. Conventional cell culture media based on fetal bovine serum are expensive and present ethical issues, in addition to having unstable supply and risk of pathogen contamination. To overcome these issues, MCHG has been conducting research in plant-based growth factors for cell culture.
Myoridge is a Kyoto University spin-out company with technologies for developing culture media and producing iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes using the protein-free differentiation method. Myoridge offers bespoke culture medium development services through a proprietary database of culture media components and manufacturing process development support. The offerings of Myoridge – through research & development, products, and cell-focused services – go beyond the state-of-the-art in the cell culture market.
MCHG and Myoridge share a common interest in providing serum-free media. Through collaboration with Myoridge, MCHG will further strengthen the ability to tackle cell culture peripheral materials challenges and will develop plant-based growth factors and media for cell culture with stable functions and high quality required for clinical settings.
MCHG announced a new management policy "Forging the future" in December 2021, positioning healthcare and life science as strategic markets. MCHG aims to offer novel products in these markets and make the regenerative medicine approach safer for patients with difficult-to-treat diseases. In accomplishing these goals, MCHG will contribute to the realization of a society in which everyone can live healthy and active lives.
Comments by Naohiro Makita, CEO of Myoridge:
"Our mission is to create a healthier society through enabling high quality cell culture, a critical area in medical research. Through this alliance with MCHG, with its unique chemical technology for cell culture, we will make significant advances in our ability to serve cell-based developments in multiple industries."
Comments by Fumiko Uraki, Director, Venture Department, MCHG:
"We are very pleased to be able to deepen our collaborative relationship with Myoridge through this investment. Myoridge has deep knowledge of cell culture and development capabilities for cell culture-related products that meet the needs of customers. Cell culture will become an indispensable enabler for a wide range of fields including regenerative medicine, drug discovery and development, and food innovations. We will create new value through collaboration with Myoridge, strive for technological progress and business development in this field, and contribute to a sustainable future."
[ Overview of Myoridge Co. Ltd.]
Date of Establishment: August 10, 2016
Office Location: 46-29 Yoshidashimoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
Representative: Naohiro Makita, CEO
Business Description: Sales of cell products and culture medium, Culture medium development support, Development support for base materials, operation methods, and equipment with a bird’s eye view of the entire process
Company Website: https://myoridge.co.jp/en/
