U-Factor Announces “Excellence Award” for ALS Research by Partner Hitonowa Medical Clinic at the 24th Congress of the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine

Dr. Yuji Teramura, Scientific and Technical Advisor to our company, has received the Society Award at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Organ Preservation and Biology.
He was recognized for a technology co-developed with iCoat Medical AB (Sweden), Uppsala University, and collaborators, in which the vascular endothelium of the kidney is coated with amphiphilic polymers to suppress ischemia–reperfusion injury following kidney transplantation.

“Vascular Barrier” Technology to Improve the Safety and Success of Organ Transplantation

In Japan, there are many patients with chronic kidney disease, and some of them require dialysis. Dialysis imposes a substantial burden on patients’ quality of life. Kidney transplantation is a powerful treatment option that can free patients from dialysis and improve long-term outcomes, but it is essential that the transplanted organ survive and remain functional in the body over time.

One major challenge is ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI), a type of immune-mediated reaction that tends to occur immediately after transplantation. Ischemia–reperfusion injury increases the risk of subsequent organ damage and rejection and can interfere with long-term graft survival.

To date, no drug or technology has been firmly established that can reliably suppress ischemia–reperfusion injury, and surgical outcomes have depended heavily on the individual surgeon’s experience and technical skill. There has therefore been a strong need for new approaches. This research represents a promising step toward solving this long-standing issue and lays an important foundation for the future development of transplantation medicine.

Research Overview

Objective：
To evaluate the efficacy of a technique that uses amphiphilic polymers, in particular polyethylene glycol (PEG) lipids, to artificially coat the surface of vascular endothelial cells and thereby suppress ischemia–reperfusion injury in kidney transplantation.

Methods：
Polyethylene glycol lipids were attached to the vascular endothelium within the kidney by brief, low-temperature treatment, forming a thin polymer membrane (an artificial glycocalyx).
Using a large-animal (porcine) kidney transplantation model, the researchers comprehensively assessed indicators such as excessive activation of the complement and coagulation systems, elevation of inflammatory cytokines, and vascular endothelial injury, in order to evaluate the ischemia–reperfusion injury–suppressing effect.

Key Findings：
Endothelial coating with polyethylene glycol lipids was found to significantly suppress early post-transplant immune responses and organ injury.

Conclusion：
Because the formed coating membrane temporarily protects the vascular endothelium and then naturally disappears over time, this approach offers advantages in both safety and practicality. It is expected to promote functional recovery of the transplanted kidney and improve long-term graft survival rates.

The detailed results of this work were published in the American Journal of Transplantation on September 24, 2025, and have attracted considerable attention in the field of regenerative medicine.

About U-Factor Co., Ltd.
Established: March 2020
CEO: Hidehiro Ijima
Headquarters: 1st Floor, ESCALIER Rokubancho, 7-11 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
URL: https://u-factor.com
Business: U-Factor aims to develop therapeutics for intractable diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease using U-Factor solution. The company is committed to addressing unmet medical needs by developing new drugs for diseases for which no effective treatments currently exist.

Cell and Molecular Biotechnology Research Institute,
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

Established: April 2020
Director: Yasuo Komatsu, Director, Cell and Molecular Biotechnology Research Institute
Location: Group 6, Central Site, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
Website: https://unit.aist.go.jp/cmb5/index.html