Today Kyowa Hakko’s most talked about new raw material in Cognizin, a branded ingredient for supplements that aid memory and other brain functions. It was the winner of the best new ingredient of the year at Nutracon 2003, an annual conference of supplement, food and beverage makers. CEO Yuzuru Matsuda sees great potential from treatment towards prevention. He regards the success of ornithine, a multifunctional amino acid marketed in Japan as an active dietary supplement ingredient for healthy body maintenance, as affirming this trend. In bulk Amino acids, Kyowa Hakko is changing its focus from seasoning and animal feed, toward raising its share of the high value added market for utilizing amino acids in medical products, health foods, and beverages.

In the prescription drug field, Kyowa Hakko discovered and now licensed and manufacturers Olapatadine, the active ingredient for Alcon Laboratories Patanol, the best-selling anti allergy eye drops in the U.S Matsuda has a grander vision beyond such current success. “Over time, he says, “A company can get complacent and be content simply to improve on what it has been doing all along. I want us to pioneer research in areas that other companies are ignoring. I want bring the company back to the spirit of our founder: of continually enhancing our contributions to global society. With that in mind Matsuda has established the new and independent Bio Frontier Laboratories, with a staff of 120. “This will be the year of Bio-innovation, says Matsuda.