Announcement of Participation in Co-creation Community: On-Chip Biotechnologies Joins "Gut Design Co-creation Project JAPAN" Hosted by Metagen Inc.

On-Chip Biotechnologies Inc. (Headquarters: Koganei City, Tokyo, President & CEO: Yu Fujimura, hereinafter "the Company") announces its participation in the "Gut Design Co-creation Project JAPAN (abbreviated GDP JAPAN)" hosted by Metagen Inc. (Headquarters: Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, President & CEO: Shinji Fukuda).

GDP JAPAN is a corporate collaboration community that aims to create a gut design market, bringing together approximately 40 companies from various industries including food, healthcare, and distribution, with the keyword "From Competition to Co-creation." Through its participation in this project, the Company aims to fully deploy its unique droplet technology in the field of gut bacteria research and industrialization.

CEO MESSAGE Message from the President & CEO

From Equipment Manufacturer to Screening Platform Partner.

It is said that less than 1% of the microbial world has been cultured and analyzed by humans. Gut bacteria are the field most directly linked to people's health within this unexplored territory.

We have continuously challenged ourselves to "make unculturable and difficult-to-culture microorganisms culturable and usable" with our droplet technology.

Together with companies that share our vision gathered at GDP JAPAN, and the host Metagen Inc., we will directly address the challenges in the gut bacteria field. We aim to move beyond simply providing equipment and become a partner that offers a screening platform, contributing to the development of the gut design industry originating from Japan. This is our aspiration.

Yu Fujimura, President & CEO, On-Chip Biotechnologies Inc.

WHY GDP JAPAN Why the Gut Bacteria Field Now – An Industry-First Challenge Begins Here

Breaking Through Research and Industrialization Bottlenecks with Droplet Technology

In recent years, rapid advancements in understanding the gut microbiota have led to rapidly growing expectations for industrial applications in various fields such as disease prevention, extension of healthy lifespan, drug discovery, and food functionality. The global human microbiome market is a growth area, projected to expand from approximately USD 1 billion in 2025 to USD 2.2-2.4 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate exceeding 16-20% (※1). However, many gut bacteria are obligate anaerobes, meaning they can only be handled in anaerobic environments, and high-throughput screening in such environments has been considered impossible, posing a major bottleneck for research and commercialization.

To directly address these technical challenges, the Company has designated "gut bacteria and lactic acid bacteria" as a key application area from 2026 onwards and is strengthening the anaerobic compatibility of its droplet technology. We are on the verge of achieving an industry-first combination where our droplet technology operates within an anaerobic chamber.

We believe GDP JAPAN is a community where the core players in this market are gathered.

Figure 1: The Company's complete set of droplet-related equipment (DG / DS) installed within an anaerobic chamber. High-throughput screening is realized through the industry-first combination of anaerobic chamber × droplet technology.

OUR APPROACH On-Chip Biotechnologies' Initiatives in the Gut Bacteria Field

Covering the Entire Gut Bacteria Screening Process with a Droplet Technology Platform

Our flagship product, "On-chip Droplet Generator (DG)," generates water-in-oil droplet (microdroplets) on a microfluidic chip, allowing for the culture of microorganisms, etc., on a single-cell basis within these droplets. Our other flagship product, "On-chip Droplet Selector (DS)," is a device that rapidly selects only droplets with desired functions and dispenses them one drop at a time into microplate wells or the like.

POINT 01: Anaerobic Bacteria Compatible Protocol

Continuously developing protocols specifically for obligate anaerobic bacteria, realizing industry-first anaerobic high-throughput screening.

POINT 02: Building Track Record with Research Institutions and Companies

Accumulating track record of DS adoption by domestic and international research institutions and companies, including Keio University, deepening expertise in the gut bacteria and lactic acid bacteria fields.

POINT 03: Expansion into Food and Microbial Fields

Actively promoting partnerships in the food and microbial fields through joint research with synthetic biology ventures, food manufacturers, and others.

OUR COMMITMENT Goals Aimed for Through Participation in GDP JAPAN

Contributing to the Development of the Gut Design Industry, Starting with the Creation of Results through Collaboration and Co-creation

HUB FUNCTION | Playing a Role in Metagen Inc.'s Aim for "Hub Function for the Gut Design Business"

We consider this an important step in realizing our mission, "To unleash the potential of cells and microorganisms through innovative screening methods based on droplet technology, contributing to human health and the sustainability of the global environment," within the gut bacteria domain, and we will tackle this with our entire company.

ABOUT METAGEN About Metagen Inc.

Metagen's mission is to "make healthcare tailored to the gut environment commonplace." Through an approach conceptualized as "Gut Design®," the group aims for "zero diseases." Utilizing its proprietary gut environment evaluation technology "Metagenomics®" to comprehensively understand the functions of the gut environment, Metagen supports the entire process from gut environment research to its social implementation through three business segments: "Value Exploration Business for Research," "Product Development Support Business," and "Science PR Business." They also operate the corporate collaboration community "Gut Design Co-creation Project," which aims to co-create a "gut design market," with over 40 companies participating as of June 2026. They also operate "onakademy," an owned media to convey correct knowledge about the gut environment to society and help individuals find their own healthcare axis.

ABOUT ON-CHIP About On-Chip Biotechnologies Inc.

On-Chip Biotechnologies Inc., founded in 2005, is a manufacturer of bio-measurement equipment centered on microfluidic technology. They have provided flow cytometers, cell sorters, and other equipment to research institutions and companies both domestically and internationally. The combination of their flagship products, "On-chip Droplet Generator" and "On-chip Droplet Selector," is being adopted in fields such as synthetic biology, bio-manufacturing, drug discovery, food, and environment, as a system that can culture microorganisms, etc., within droplets generated on a microfluidic chip and select one clone with the desired function per drop.

Company Name

On-Chip Biotechnologies Inc.

Established

2005

Representative

Yu Fujimura, President & CEO

Headquarters

2-16-17 Nakamachi, Koganei City, Tokyo 184-0012

TEL

042-385-0461

URL

Official HP https://on-chip.co.jp/ Latest News https://on-chip.co.jp/category/news/press-release/

CONTACT Inquiries Regarding This Matter

[For Public Relations/Media] On-Chip Biotechnologies Inc., Corporate Planning Office E-mail: info@on-chip.co.jp TEL: 042-385-0461

[For Product/Technology Inquiries] On-Chip Biotechnologies Inc., Sales Department E-mail: sales@on-chip.co.jp TEL: 042-385-0461