| Olympus Corporation (Olympus), Terumo Corporation (Terumo) and Olympus Biomaterial Corp. (OBM), a wholly owned subsidiary of Olympus Corporation, have today agreed to incorporate the new Joint Venture specializing in biomaterials. The new Joint Venture will be launched on April 1, 2007. |
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| The Joint Venture will be created through the integration of OBM, which is involved in the areas of biomaterials and regenerative medicine, with the collagen business of Terumo. The aim is to build a biomaterials business through the development of new products in the fields of orthopedics, dentistry, oral surgery, plastic surgery and dermatology, based on the convergence of both companies’ technologies. |
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| OBM will be renamed Olympus Terumo Biomaterials Corp. The sales target is ¥5 billion within three years. |
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| In 2005, Olympus and Terumo decided to expand their comprehensive business partnership. Since then the two companies have been discussing a collaborative approach to the development of new medical devices and new markets in several fields, including cardiovasucular disease, cancer and bone disease (orthopedic surgery). As part of the process of expanding their business partnership, Olympus and Terumo have agreed to establish a jointly owned corporation as the vehicle for their new business. By creating an integrated business structure specializing in biomaterials, the two companies aim to develop new products based on their technology synergies. |
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| Aims of Joint Venture |
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| In recent years, the rapid growth of the aged population has been accompanied by increases in the incidence of bone fractures and bone disease, including bone tumors. These conditions are generally treated surgically through the use of bone substitute or autogenous bone to regenerate in bony defects. The procedures with bone are less surgically invasive than with autogenous bone and can be expected to provide improvements in the quality of life. These advantages are reflected in the expansion of the bone substitute market. |
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| Natural bone consists mainly of calcium phosphate and collagen. OBM and Terumo have knowledge and manufacturing technologies relating to calcium phosphate and collagen respectively. By applying their combined technologies to the development of bone substitute, they aim to create new composite bone substitute materials, including composites of ceramics element and collagen, that will more closely resemble natural bone, which is made of. In addition to technology synergies, including the combination of OBM’s biomaterials with bio-access technology developed by Terumo, there will also be opportunities for market expansion and other benefits based on marketing synergies. By developing patient-friendly biomaterials, Olympus Terumo Biomaterials aims to create new markets for minimally invasive therapies. |
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| Technological Backgrounds of Olympus, OBM and Terumo |
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Olympus and Olympus Biomaterial
Olympus commenced sales of OSferion, a synthetical bone replacement material based on β -TCP (beta-tricalcium phosphate), in 1999. In 2004 it restructured this area of its business as a wholly owned subsidiary, OBM. In 2005 Olympus acquired Boneceram, a hydroxyapatite bone replacement material, from Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. and Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. OBM sells these products in Japan. |
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Terumo
The collagen business of Terumo dates from 1993, when it began to supply Terudermis, an artificial dermal graft material used to treat serious dermal and mucosal defects and severe burn wound. Made from collagen, Terudermis supports the formation of dermal tissue through infiltration by the patient’s own cells. In 1998 Terumo launched Teruplug, a product designed to accelerate recovery after tooth extraction. Terumo sells these products in Japan and in overseas markets, including the United States, South Korea and Taiwan. |
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| Profile of Olympus Terumo Biomaterials Corp. |
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| President: |
Hitoshi Mizuno (currently President of Olympus Biomaterial Corp.) |
| Head office: |
Shinjuku Monolith, 2-3-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo |
| Activities: |
Research and development relating to biomaterials and regenerative medicine, including ceramic bone substitute and collagen, and manufacture and sales of these products |
| Capital: |
¥72,070,000 |
| Ownership: |
Olympus 66.6% (192,000 shares), Terumo 33.4% (96,290 shares) |
| Start of business: |
April 1, 2007 (tentative) |
| Employees: |
Approximately 60 |
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