bionto Signs MOU with South Korea's HAEWON T&D for Business Collaboration on Hyalion™ (Ionized Mineral Hyaluronic Acid Composite) x Iontronics Technology

Tohoku University spin-off biotech startup bionto Inc. (Headquarters: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture; CEO: Hiromitsu Senoo; hereinafter 'bionto') announces that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with HAEWON T&D CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Busan Metropolitan City, South Korea; CEO: Hyun Ki-woong; hereinafter 'Haewon'), a Korean cosmetics ODM/OEM manufacturer, regarding joint business consideration for beauty-related businesses utilizing Hyalion™ (ionized mineral hyaluronic acid composite material) and iontronics technology.

■ Background of the MOU signing
bionto is developing healthcare devices that innovate self-care and self-medication based on iontronics technology, which Prof. Matsuhiko Nishizawa of the Graduate School of Engineering and Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering at Tohoku University has been researching as foundational technology for over 20 years. Applied products of this technology, such as the bio-power generation skin patch sheet and the PMN (porous microneedle) device currently under development, are next-generation beauty and healthcare platform technologies that enable active ingredients to penetrate the skin non-invasively (without damaging the skin) utilizing electrical energy.

Our company has already signed a joint product development agreement with Toyo Beauty Co., Ltd., a major domestic cosmetics ODM/OEM manufacturer, and is promoting the development of products for the Japanese market. Now, as a first step toward expanding into overseas markets, we have signed an MOU regarding business collaboration with Haewon, a Korean cosmetics ODM/OEM manufacturer.

Haewon is a Korean company established in 2001 with annual sales of $22 million USD. It possesses its own R&D department and provides comprehensive solutions from formulation development to branding, manufacturing, and quality control. Its partner factories have acquired Korean CGMP certification and ISO 22716, and have technical expertise specializing in the research and development of BIO materials. The company holds a patent for 'Hyalion™', which it originally developed, and the high technical affinity with our iontronics technology led to this collaboration.

■ Overview of the MOU
Based on this MOU, the three parties will promote joint consideration in the following areas.

1. Joint technical consideration of Hyalion™ × Iontronics
We will conduct joint consideration of beauty-related products combining Haewon's Hyalion™ with bionto's PMN devices and iontronics technology. Specifically, we will work on optimizing the blending of ionized minerals into PMN devices, verifying the synergistic effects of both technologies, and considering product specifications for the Japanese and Korean markets. We will also proceed with considering the possibility of expanding to beauty products other than PMN devices.

2. Acquisition of priority negotiation rights for the Japanese expansion of the patented 'Hyalion™' raw material
Under this MOU, bionto has acquired priority negotiation rights concerning the exclusive development, manufacturing, sales, importation, supply, etc., in the Japanese market for beauty products using Hyalion™ manufactured and supplied by Haewon.
A representative application of the ionized mineral compound held by Haewon is the patented 'Hyalion™'. It is a unique raw material that improves the skin absorption rate by approximately 30% by binding hyaluronic acid, which generally has large molecules and is difficult to absorb transdermally, with ionized minerals.
Due to ionic bonding