5-ALA is an abbreviation for 5-Aminolevulinic Acid, a type of amino acid contained in the living bodies of animals and plants. Amino acids are the basic substances that make up the body and are important components that support all the functions in the body. The potential of 5-ALA, which has been called a substance that holds the key to vitality, is attracting attention in a number of fields. Moreover, 5-ALA is used in a wide variety of applications ranging from cosmetics, where it is used in aging care, to the health foods field and medical care, where applications include brain tumor intraoperative diagnosis and cancer diagnosis.
The SBI Group has positioned the 5-ALA-related business as a future growth area, and photonamic in Germany and SBI Pharmaceuticals in Japan are working together to identify cancer cells using 5-ALA in the pharmaceutical field. We are proceeding with research and development for applications such as cancer diagnosis.
In addition, SBI ALApromo develops and sells health foods in Japan, such as foods with functional claims that contain 5-ALA, cosmetics, and skin care products that use 5-ALA as a moisturizing ingredient.
