SBI Holdings, Inc.
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.

SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Yoshitaka Kitao; “SBI Pharmaceuticals”), a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, Inc., engages in research and development of pharmaceuticals, health foods and cosmetics using 5-aminolevulinic acid (“5-ALA”)*. We are pleased to inform you that SBI Pharmaceuticals has obtained a patent in Japan for a therapeutic agent for allergic rhinitis that contains 5-ALA as an active ingredient.

The patent was filed jointly with National Hospital Organization (main office: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; President:Takaaki Kirino).

Patent number: 5713473
Name of discovery: Therapeutic agent for allergic rhinitis
Patent owner: SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., National Hospital Organization
Filing date: June 15, 2012

The patent is a basic one covering a pharmaceutical agent used to apply 5-ALA-based photodynamic therapy (“ALA-PDT”), involving the administration of 5-ALA and the emission of light having a wavelength of 400–700 nm, to allergic rhinitis. ALA-PDT is a technique to treat cancer in which light of a specific wavelength is emitted locally by using the characteristics of the administered 5-ALA which changes to a light-sensitive material by the metabolism specific to cancer cells. SBI Pharmaceuticals and a research team at the National Hospital Organization Chiba Medical Center have jointly found that light-sensitive materials are also accumulated at the sites of nasal membrane inflammation. These findings have led to the granting of the patent.

SBI Pharmaceuticals will continue to pursue various potential applications of 5-ALA, and focus on research and development to provide pharmaceuticals that satisfy the unmet medical needs of as many people as possible around the world.

* 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)
An amino acid created in mitochondria. It is an important substance that serves as protein material related to energy production in the form of heme and cytochromes, and its productivity is known to decrease with age. 5-ALA is contained in food such as shochu distillation remnants and red wine. It is also known as a material forming chloroplasts in plants.

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For further information, please contact:
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.: Corporate Planning Dept., Tel: +81 3 6229 0095

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