Research and Development Center and Open Innovation

「Research into effects on the dermal layer established that oxytocin and cortisol have opposing effects on the dermal hyaluronic acid synthesis mechanism through their respective receptors. These findings were presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Cosmetic Chemists in July 2025 and the 98th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Biochemical Society in November 2025.」

「The findings were presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Cosmetic Chemists in June 2024 and the 37th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Animal Cell Technology in July 2024. The company also focused not only on the stress hormone cortisol but also on oxytocin, known as the happiness hormone, and established that the two hormones have opposing effects on the mechanism by which dermal fibroblasts produce hyaluronic acid. The findings were presented at the 145th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan in March 2025.」

「As a specific result, the company focused on exosomes, which have been studied in recent years in various fields as communication tools between cells and tissues. Through joint research with Waseda University, it established that psychological stress, in the form of cortisol, may alter the exosomes released by epidermal cells and affect fibroblasts that receive those exosomes. The findings were presented at the Japanese Society for Molecular Biology in December 2023.」

「Research and development expenditure for the nine-month period ended 31 December was ¥111.668 million. There were no material changes in the status of the Group's research and development activities during the nine-month period ended 31 December.」

「In product development, the company leverages the benefits of an integrated sales-and-manufacturing operation and is working to develop products that achieve high customer satisfaction through a system that rapidly and accurately reflects customer needs based on email surveys conducted at each customer visit and surveys conducted after new-product launches.」

「Research and development expenditure for the nine-month period ended 31 December was ¥119.371 million. There were no material changes in the status of the Group's research and development activities during the nine-month period ended 31 December.」

「The company also conducted joint research with 永廣堂本店株式会社, a cosmetics-ingredient manufacturer, and developed a new proprietary ingredient, "Coriander Fruit Rice-Koji Fermentation Extract," by combining rice-koji fermentation, a traditional bioscience technology used in Japan since ancient times, with coriander fruit, which is also known as the world's oldest spice.」

「In the course of this research, the company newly identified a function of Color Flower Yeast Extract to suppress skin symptoms caused by stress, such as itchy and dry skin, and presented the findings at the 119th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Dermatological Association.」

「① Verified the effects on the mind and body of acupuncture stimulation at facial acupoints (tsubo) (June 2019: commissioned research with Meiji International University, conducted in collaboration with NeU, a company applying brain science in industry). ② Discovered the effects on the mind and body of facial care, including facial acupoint stimulation (December 2019: commissioned research with Meiji International University, conducted in collaboration with NeU). ③ Developed AI technology that accurately captures facial features in skin-image analysis (March 2020: joint research with Keio University).」

「In its R&D activities, the company is strengthening collaboration with external research institutions, including evidence collection, and improving its R&D capabilities through activities such as presenting its findings at academic conferences, with the aim of enhancing the added value of its products and services.」

「In its R&D activities, the company is strengthening collaboration with external research institutions, including evidence collection, and improving its R&D capabilities through activities such as presenting its findings at academic conferences, with the aim of enhancing the added value of its products and services.」

「The company is strengthening collaboration with external research institutions, including evidence collection, to enhance the added value of its products and services, thereby improving its R&D capabilities.」

「R&D expenditure during the cumulative third-quarter period was ¥151.723 million. There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative third-quarter period.」

「R&D expenditure during the cumulative second-quarter period was ¥99.532 million. There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative second-quarter period.」

「R&D expenditure during the cumulative first-quarter period was ¥54.060 million. There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative first-quarter period.」

「In the fourth year since the Research and Development Center began full-scale operations, the company is further strengthening the foundations of its R&D structure and collaborating with external research institutions such as universities. It is advancing the development of new skin-measurement methods and joint development of new formulations, accelerating next-generation technology development, improving the efficiency of research activities, and strengthening its open-innovation structure. As a specific achievement, the company introduced the STE test, an alternative method for eye-irritation testing, through collaboration with Yokohama National University and worked to strengthen its safety-assessment structure.」

「There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative third-quarter period.」

「There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative second-quarter period.」

「There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative first-quarter period.」

「In the third year since the Research and Development Center began full-scale operations, the company is further strengthening the foundations of its R&D structure and collaborating with external research institutions such as universities. It is advancing the development of new skin-measurement methods and joint development of new formulations, accelerating next-generation technology development, improving the efficiency of research activities, and strengthening its open-innovation structure. It is also focusing on evaluating product efficacy by developing analytical personnel through external training and establishing efficacy-assessment technologies through the introduction of analytical equipment, with the aim of developing more effective products. As a specific example, to establish a method for evaluating and measuring the effects of facial massage, the company presented the results of joint research with Aoyama Gakuin University at a conference of the Japanese Society for Non-Destructive Inspection and filed a patent application.」

「There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative third-quarter period.」

「There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative second-quarter period.」

「There were no material changes in the status of the company's R&D activities during the cumulative first-quarter period.」

「In the second year since the Research and Development Center began full-scale operations, the company is further strengthening the foundations of its R&D structure and collaborating with external research institutions such as universities. It is advancing the development of new skin-measurement methods and joint development of new formulations, accelerating next-generation technology development, improving the efficiency of research activities, and strengthening its open-innovation structure.」