Signed Exclusive Distributorship Agreement with Bulgaria's Huvepharma for Algae-Derived DHA in Japan- Switching from fish to algae-based DHA will contribute to a stable supply of safe food -

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Shingo Ueno) has concluded an exclusive agency agreement for Japan with Huvepharma EOOD(Head Office: Sofia; President and CEO: Kiril Domuschiev), a global pharmaceutical company specializing in production of fermentation derived products, including the manufacture of DHA rich oil by microalgae.

Japan's DHA market and challenges

DHA (*1) is a nutrient that is expected to have effects such as improving cognitive function and preventing lifestyle-related diseases. In Japan, due to growing health consciousness, it is mainly used in health foods such as supplements. The market size is approximately 35 billion yen, and is expected to continue to expand at an annual rate of about 4-5%. On the other hand, most of the DHA currently available is derived from fish, which poses issues such as the distinctive fishy odor, residual heavy metals and other chemical substances that accumulate in fish bodies. Additionally, overfishing is expected to lead to price increases.

Algae-derived DHA and the Strengths of Huvepharma

Algae-derived DHA has the same components as fish-derived DHA but is extracted by cultivating algae, it does not have the distinctive fishy odor and does not contain the chemical substances that are of concern with fish-derived DHA, making it highly safe. As such, it is easy to expand into products for vegetarians, those who prefer plant-based foods, infants, and pregnant and breastfeeding women. It is therefore expected to be a sustainable material with a wide range of uses and low environmental impact. Huvepharma manufactures and sells livestock additives, veterinary medicines and nutritional products in over 100 countries around the world. It owns algae state of the art cultivation process developed through Huvepharma's R&D. They can produce safe and high-quality products in compliance with GMP(Good Manufacturing Practice) and HACCP(Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) standards required for sales in Japan, and provide materials suitable for supplements and infant products. Additionally, with one of the largest fermentation facilities in Europe, they are prepared to meet future demand expansion and develop new algae-derived nutrients.