Business :: 株式会社漢方医科学研究所

The path to the development of new natural medicines through the fusion of Kampo medicine and modern science.

Plans to develop and manufacture new medicinal supplies, health foods and health drinks based on Kampo Medical Science.

There are many effective components with medicinal properties buried within the traditional chinese medicine, which's experience accumulated over thousands of years of history, that we do not know about yet. At that time period, pharmaceutical technology was still immature. Hence, it was not possible to elucidate all medicinal properties of used plants. However, present age science and technology is much more advanced and is evolving further with time passing by. By utilizing the latest science and technology, we will open up a still unknown world in the Kampo medicines field and apply the results to the development of new effective drugs that are kind to humans. That is what Kampo Medical Science is about.

And the ones researching and accumulating a great deal of information on the Kampo medicines field are we, the Institute of Oriental Medical Science.

Our Institute of Oriental Medical Science was established with the mission of widely instructing and offering professional education in the field of Kampo medicine in Japan. After that, for about 20 years, we have been developing Kampo medicine education business eagerly, based on Chinese traditional medicine (traditional Chinese medical science) and with strong support from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, nurturing and producing many specialized human resources with advanced knowledge of Kampo medicine, including doctors and pharmacists. In addition, we are planning a full-scale commercialization/ industrialization based on the results of research on the usefulness of medicinal plants, which has been carried out in conjunction with the education business of Kampo medicine science.

Make the best use of Kampo medicine's highest level of resources.

Making natural medicinal plants such as traditional Chinese crude drugs safer and of higher quality with our original method. Specifically, the main businesses are as follows.

1.Research and development of new drug candidate substances (compounds) derived from medicinal plant components

We are conducting research on various medicinal plants that are used as raw materials in Kampo medicine to search for medicinal ingredients (compounds) that have the potential to become “new drugs”. We also research and develop highly functional health foods that contain herbal ingredients.
3 Lotus germ-derived component compounds (antidepressant effect; sedative)

● September 2010 US patent acquisition
● March 2011 Japanese patent acquisition
● June 2011 European patent acquisition

2.Research and development and sales of high-level health food

In addition to mental health related illnesses such as dementia and mood disorders, we are actively engaged in the research and development of high-level health foods that can deal with various fields and conditions such as lifestyle-related diseases, atopy / allergies, anti-aging, etc.

3.Contracted clinical studies for Kampo medicines and health foods

The Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine has 5 affiliated hospitals with a total of 4,300 beds admitted and with more than 10 million patients coming annually. With the cooperation of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals, we will develop contracted clinical studies for Kampo medicines and health foods.

4.Cultivation of crude drugs in collaboration with Japanese agricultural companies

Traditional Chinese crude drugs are human-friendly medicines, because they are based on natural ingredients. The cultivation of medicinal herbs, which are the main ingredients of Kampo medicine itself, is an important point for the quality, effectiveness and safety of Kampo drugs or products. We are also working with farmers in Japan to cultivate herbal medicine itself, aiming to realize higher quality cultivation in a shorter period of time.

Because of our collaborative research with Bio-Venture Neurogen Inc., which the emeritus professor of Osaka University Toshikazu Nakamura, the first person in the world to discover HGF (hepatocyte growth factor) is a representative for, we were able to confirm a very high HGF production-inducing activity within a Japanese-Chinese mixed plant extract called “Ekc-1” developed by our company.
HGF (hepatocyte growth factor) is a bioactive protein that has a strong growth promoting effect on hepatocytes. Recent studies have made clear that the HGF can be used to regenerate and repair not only the liver but also many tissues and organs such as cranial nerves, kidneys, lungs, blood vessels, skin, and hair. It is known to be a active factor to repair and regenerate various damaged organs and tissue cells.
The Japanese-Chinese plant extract called Ekc-1 with a high HGF production-inducing activity, can be used to develop products aiming to regenerate and repair various tissues such as cranial nerves, kidneys, lungs, blood vessels, skin, and hair as well as the liver.