SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.

SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Yoshitaka Kitao), a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, Inc., which researches and develops pharmaceuticals, health foods, and cosmetics using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) (*1) announces that it has concluded a Basic Agreement to begin clinical research on diabetes in Bahrain with the Arabian Gulf University (AGU).

According to a research by the International Diabetes Federation, a high percentage of diabetic patients reside in Bahrain and other Middle Eastern countries. AGU is working to establish a clinical development structure that complies with GCP (*2) to support Arabic people in the region. And to help treat diabetic patients, the university has chosen a supplement containing the very safe substance 5-ALA as its first model of clinical research. With the Basic Agreement with the Arabian Gulf University in place, SBI Pharmaceuticals will pursue clinical research in collaboration with the Department of Diabetes at Bahrain Defense Force Royal Medical Service Hospital (*3) and the Arabian Gulf University hospital.

SBI Pharmaceuticals will continue to work closely with the government of Bahrain in accommodating the needs of the country and advancing the business. Simultaneously, we will endeavor to help people around the world stay healthy by further identifying the various possibilities of 5-ALA through pursuing R&D jointly with our partners inside and outside Japan.

Arabian Gulf University

A university with a medical center in Bahrain established by six countries in the Gulf in 1981. It has the longest history in medical education in the region. The university is currently operated by six countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain. The French-Arabian Business School was also established in 2007.

(*1)  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 hemes and cytochromes, and its productivity is known to decrease with age. 5-ALA is contained in shochu distillation remnants, red wine and food such as radish sprouts. It is also known as a material forming chloroplasts in plants.

(*2) GCP: An abbreviation for Good Clinical Practice, which is a standard for performing clinical tests on pharmaceutical products.

(*3)  Bahrain  Defense  Force  Royal  Medical  Service  Hospital  provides  medical  services  with  all  expenses  borne  by  the government.

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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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