Osaka University, Shimadzu, Itoham Yonekyu, Toppan and SIGMAXYZ have established “Future Creation Consortium for Cultured Meat”
04 April 2023: On March 29 Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University (Osaka University), Shimadzu Corporation (Shimadzu), Itoham Yonekyu Holdings Inc. (Itoham Yonekyu), Toppan Inc. (Toppan) and SIGMAXYZ Inc. (SIGMAXYZ) established “The Future Creation Consortium for Cultured Meat.” The consortium focuses on “concrete initiatives for practical implementation of the manufacturing technology of edible cultured meat using 3D bioprinting.” Through cross-company collaboration, we will carry on “developing 3D bioprinting technology for application”, “establishing an integrated value chain from production to logistics” and “contributing to legislation through collaboration with government offices and private companies.” By exhibiting at the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, Kansai, we will concentrate on “providing information that helps people understand cultured meat.”
The consortium consists of “operating partners,” who develop technologies, negotiate with government offices and related organizations, and provide information to the public; “R&D partners,” who engage in joint research in specific technology areas; and “practical implementation partners,” who dispatch information to make cultured meat-related technologies and products popular. “Operating Partners” are Osaka University, Shimadzu, Itoham Yonekyu, Toppan, and SIGMAXYZ. For the positions of “R&D partners” and “practical implementation partners,” we will invite applications from various fields.
3D bioprinting technology developed by Osaka University can freely produce muscle tissue structures and is expected to be used in the fields of food, regenerative medicine, and drug design. In August 2021, Osaka University and Toppan published a paper on a technology that produces different kinds of fibrous tissues, such as muscle, fat, and blood vessels using 3D printing and bundles up and integrates them. After the technology was established, Osaka University, Shimadzu, and SIGMAXYZ signed a partnership agreement for the practical implementation of 3D bioprinting technology in March 2022 and began working on its practical implementation. By receiving Itoham Yonekyu as a member, who has extended its knowledge about meat over the years.
With the establishment of consortium, Osaka University, Itoham Yonekyu and Toppan opened a “Joint Research Laboratory for Social Implementation of Cultured Meat” in Suita Campus, Osaka University. The joint research laboratory and “Osaka University Shimadzu Omics Innovation Research Laboratories,” which is established in December 2019, will serve as the center for research promotion of the consortium.
www.toppan.co.jp
