Kyowa Hakko USA Introduces Sustamine™ Alanyl Glutamine

February 26, 2008

A breakthrough dipeptide that delivers more for less

New York, NY – Kyowa Hakko USA introduced their latest breakthrough in ingredient technology Sustamine™ Alanyl Glutatmine at Informex, in New Orleans. Charlie Kotani, president of Kyowa Hakko USA stated, “We are excited about our new dipeptide technology and know that it will bring value and savings to our customers.”

Sustamine™ is a dipeptide of the two amino acids L- alanine and L-glutamine, L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine (Ala-Gln). Compared to L-glutamine (Gln), Sustamine improves viable cell growth, and increases product yield, in media applications. Furthermore, Sustamine itself dramatically reduces the level of ammonia, which is a byproduct of L-Glutamine degradation. Sustamine is very soluble in water and stable in solution, therefore it can be utilized to deliver the benefits of glutamine in a variety of applications.

Through their innovative manufacturing process, Kyowa’s scientists can create dipeptides like Sustamine without the necessity of synthetic or chemical modifications. Kyowa produces Sustamine, L-alanyl-L-glutamine, directly from glucose through its proprietary fermentation process, which enables an economical benefit in terms of cost structure. This proprietary process has unlocked the potential for dramatically improving productivity in cell cultures, particularly of value in antibody production, but with promising applications that span the healthcare industry.

Sustamine can be utilized in many liquid products, including IV, enteral drugs, cell culture media, nutraceutical health, sports nutrition and more and is available for worldwide distribution.

Kyowa Hakko produces over 50 amino acids and related compounds, including D-Amino acids and branch-chain amino acids, as well as nucleic acids, bio-products and fine chemicals.