News Release

Canon signs agreement for purchase of assets from Kyoto Seisakusho Co., Ltd.

TOKYO, March 23, 2023—Canon Inc. (Headquarters: Ohta-ku, Tokyo, Chairman & CEO: Fujio Mitarai, hereafter: Canon) announced today that the company has signed an agreement for the purchase of assets—technology for mass production of cells for use in treatment and other clinical applications—owned by Kyoto Seisakusho Co., Ltd. (Headquarters : Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Chairman & CEO : Susumu Hashimoto hereafter: Kyoto Seisakusho)

In 2016, Canon entered Phase V of its Excellent Global Corporation Plan, a series of 5-year business programs. Under one of the key strategies for Phase V, “Strengthen and expand new businesses,” Canon has taken action to strengthen and expand the company’s medical business. Under Phase VI of the Excellent Global Corporation Plan, which began in 2021, Canon is maintaining its momentum from Phase V with the basic policy of “accelerating the corporate portfolio transformation by improving productivity and creating new businesses.” As part of a company-wide reconfiguration of its management structure, Canon is aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of its Medical Group, one of its four main business groups.

Canon’s Medical Group is currently supported by the twin pillars of Diagnostic Imaging and Healthcare. With the transfer of assets from Kyoto Seisakusho, Canon will accelerate the creation of technologies for regenerative medicine and strengthen its presence in the field of Bio-science in order to grow its medical business.

Regenerative medicine is a field that involves such techniques as transplanting cells and tissues cultured outside the body to restore organ and tissue function lost through illness or injury. The field is expected to yield remedies for diseases that until now have had no effective treatments.

While specifics may vary based on application, the capability to mass-produce cells is essential in order to realize regenerative medicine and other treatments. With the purchase of assets from Kyoto Seisakusho, Canon will acquire such mass-production technology, and the unique characteristics of this technology are expected to provide benefits including reliable quality and reduced quality testing costs. Going forward, Canon will contribute to the further development and implementation of regenerative medicine through the mass production of high-quality cells at low cost.

Overview of transfer

1. Objective	Through this transfer of assets, Canon will acquire technology for systems designed to manufacture cells for clinical and other uses, with the goal of launching a cellular manufacturing system business in the next three to five years. In addition, as of August 2019, the Canon Group has been undertaking joint research with the “Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University” (CiRA) on iPS cells and the realization of patient-grown iPS cells.
2. Timeline	Date of signing of agreement : March 14, 2023. Date of conclusion of agreement : mid-May 2023 (tentative)
3. Assets to be transferred	equipment, patents, schematics, and others.

Overview of Kyoto Seisakusho