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

We are pleased to inform you that SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Yoshitaka Kitao; “SBI Pharmaceuticals”), a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, Inc., engaged in research and development of pharmaceuticals, health foods and cosmetics using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) (*1), has reached an agreement to collaborate with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland – Medical University of Bahrain (Location: Manama, Bahrain; “RCSI Bahrain”) to conduct joint clinical studies in Bahrain. The fields of the joint clinical studies will be decided by discussion between both parties.

SBI Pharmaceuticals is currently preparing to start a clinical study on diabetes by using 5-ALA, at locations including the Diabetes Department of the Bahrain Defense Force Royal Medical Service Hospital, the Arabian Gulf University Hospital and RCSI Bahrain. Another study will involve the use of 5-ALA in the photodynamic diagnosis of colorectal cancer in collaboration with King Hamad University Hospital and RCSI Bahrain.. With this agreement to collaborate, we now have a total of four institutions as our partners for the clinical studies in Bahrain.

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.

RCSI – Medical University of Bahrain

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland – Medical University of Bahrain is a medical university established in Bahrain as an overseas campus of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and professors of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland are providing medical education there. Graduates can receive a bachelor’s degree in medicine from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and many students from outside Bahrain study there.

(*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.

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For further information, please contact:
SBI Holdings, Inc.: Corporate Communications Dept., Tel: +81 3 6229 0126
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.: Corporate Planning Dept., Tel: +81 3 6229 0095

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