Tokyo, Japan— Tosoh Corporation announced that it has concluded an overseas licensing agreement with Shionogi & Co., Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, for Shionogi’s patents involving a B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) test. The agreement grants Tosoh license to begin selling a BNP diagnostic reagent overseas that it has been manufacturing and selling in Japan since 2003. BNP is a hormone secreted by the heart and is used as an aid in diagnosing and as an assessment of heart disease. Approximately 50% of BNP reagents used in hospitals in Japan are manufactured and sold by Tosoh.
Tosoh’s bioscience operations manufacture immunoassay reagents specifically for Tosoh’s series of automated immunoassay (AIA) analyzers. These in vitro diagnostic reagents are required for measuring trace amounts of substances, including hormones secreted by the different organs of the body, that increase in line with cancer growth and the development of other physiological abnormalities. The division’s diagnostic reagents cover about 50 tests for different types of tumors and for thyroid or other disorders.
The BNP reagent for which Tosoh has recently concluded an overseas licensing agreement is used to test the concentrations of BNP in blood. Since levels of BNP in the blood accurately reflect heart function in a patient, they are used as an abnormality marker. Clinical physicians hold the tests in high regard and BNP testing reagents are used extensively in many medical settings around the world.
Tosoh plans to sell the BNP reagent in the United States, Europe, and Asia and projects that the reagent’s worldwide sales will double over the next few years. In addition to benefiting its profitability, Tosoh sees increased sales of the reagent helping to expand its share of the global immunoassay diagnostic reagent market.
Tosoh’s bioscience operations are developing globally in three main business fields. Separation systems comprise high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems, columns, and separation materials. Immune diagnostics encompass diagnostic equipment based on HPLC and immunoassay measurement methods. And molecular testing is based on the real-time replication and testing of ribonucleic acid (RNA).
TOSOH CORPORATION
WHO WE ARE
Tosoh Corporation is a Japanese chemical company established in 1935 and listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It is the parent of the Tosoh Group, which comprises 133 companies worldwide and a multiethnic workforce of over 11,000 people and generated net sales of ¥684.4 billion (US$8.2 billion at the year-end rate of ¥83.15 to the US dollar) in fiscal 2011, ended March 31, 2011.
WHAT WE DO
Tosoh is one of the largest chlor-alkali manufacturers in Asia. The Company supplies the plastic resins and an array of the basic chemicals that support modern life. Tosoh's petrochemical operations supply ethylene, polymers, and polyethylene, while its advanced materials business serves the global semiconductor, display, and solar industries. Tosoh has also pioneered sophisticated bioscience systems that are used for the rapid diagnosis of life-threatening diseases, such as diabetes and certain cancers, and to prevent epidemics by identifying pathogenic microbes. In addition, Tosoh develops products and provides services to purify water and to monitor the environment as part of a commitment to a sustainable future.
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