We are pleased to announce that Medico’s Hirata Inc. (HQ: Osaka city, Osaka pref., President: Masataka Hirata; referred to below as "Medico’s Hirata"), a pioneer in minimally invasive treatments with over 100 years of history in the medical device industry, has concluded a joint development agreement with Gellycle Co., Ltd. (HQ: Bunkyo ward, Tokyo pref.; CEO: Kosuke Masui; referred to below as "Gellycle"), a bio-venture company originating from the University of Tokyo, to utilize Tetra-gel in hemostatic therapy.

We aspire to develop and commercialize Gellycle’s Tetra-gel (Tetra Gel) as a hemostatic agent in this joint development project.

Medico’s Hirata is the company that introduced minimally invasive medical devices to the medical practice in Japan, and has an extensive track record and international network in obtaining regulatory approval for medical devices. Gellycle, on the other hand, has a strong ability to create new medical devices utilizing Tetra-gel, one of which is a hemostatic agent using Tetra-gel.

We have entered a joint development agreement with Gellycle for the early practical availability and worldwide marketing of hemostatic agents.

Since Gellycle’s hemostatic agent is a completely synthetic and artificial material, there is no risk of infection, and it can stop any bleeding, including unstoppable bleeding that cannot be treated with current medical treatments. We will proceed with the joint development with intent to obtain regulatory approval in 2025.

[Gellycle’s Tetra-gel technology]

Tetra-gel technology is a new gel technology developed by Professor Takamasa Sakai of the Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. A mixture of two types of polyethylene glycol (PEG), which have a four-branched structure and different functional groups at the end of the molecule chain that react with each other, can produce a gel with a uniform network structure.

Controlling the properties of gels was previously considered to be too challenging. The uniform network structure of Tetra-gel now makes it possible to control and set all the properties individually.

This is the result of Prof. Takamasa Sakai's work including more than 15 years of research on Tetra-gel and more than 100 papers published in national and international journals, such as Science and Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Overview of Tetra-Platform

With these properties of Tetra-gel, Gellycle is able to meet all the needs of clinical practice, and is doing cooperative research with many clinicians.

In this joint development project, we are targeting the practical use of TetraGel as a hemostatic agent. We will continue to collaborate with many medical-related companies to jointly develop medical devices using this Tetra-gel technology, and hope to spread medical products using this innovative technology to the world.

[Massage from Masataka Hirata, President of Medico’s Hirata Inc.]

I believe that the joint development of this innovative hemostatic agent with Gellycle is a great opportunity for our company to achieve great potential and growth in the future. I am sure that this development will further expand the advanced and minimally invasive medical treatments that we are promoting to improve "Quality of Life" of patients. We will strive to promptly distribute developed products in medical practice not only in Japan but also globally based on our motto "Our social mission is to contribute to the development of medical therapy".

[Massage from Kosuke Masui, CEO of Gellycle Co., Ltd.]

We are very pleased to have entered into a joint development agreement with Medico’s Hirata, which has extensive experience in clinical trials and regulatory approval in Japan. Medico’s Hirata has a broad international network, and this agreement will be a great stepping stone for us to bring our technology to the world. We look forward to accelerating our business so that we can deliver this hemostatic agent to patients as soon as possible and help them around the world.

[About Medico’s Hirata Inc.]

Founded more than 100 years ago, Medicos Hirata was one of the first companies in Japan to work on catheter intervention therapy, and has been a specialized trading company that provides safety and security to the medical community in Japan through the import, manufacture and sales of minimally invasive medical devices. We also actively promote joint development with domestic and overseas medical device manufacturers, and with the mission to deliver advanced medical care in the field of hemostatic materials, we have been working with the same entrepreneurial spirit since our founding.

[About Gellycle Co., Ltd.]

With the mission of revolutionizing medicine utilizing hydrogels "Find Better QOL with Hydrogels," Gellycle was founded in 2018 by Mr. Masui and Professor Takamasa Sakai of the Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, and their core technology is the Tetra-gel technology that Mr. Masui researched in his master's program.

Gellycle’s Tetra-gel has made it possible to control the properties of gels, which had been considered difficult in the past, and is used by more than 20 advisory physicians, including Professor Yuichi Tei of the University of Tokyo, to promote research and development in the medical industry.

[Company information on Medico's Hirata Inc.]

Company name: Medico's Hirata Inc.

Head Office: 3-4-3 Edobori, Nishi ward, Osaka city, Osaka prefecture

Representative: Masataka Hirata

Established in January 1918

URL: http://www.medicos-hirata.co.jp/

[Company information on Gellycle]

Company name: Gellycle Co., Ltd.

Head Office: 2F Sakae Building, 3-38-1 Hongo, Bunkyo ward, Tokyo

Representative: Kosuke Masui

Established on August 01, 2018

URL: http://gellycle.com/

Business: Research and development of medical devices and regenerative medicine using tetra hydrogel