KINS Co Ltd (Head office: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yutaka Shimokawa), a provider of comprehensive microbiome care services, has raised approximately 15m SGD through private placement and bank loans. To date, KINS has raised approximately 15m SGD, bringing the total amount of funds raised to approximately 30m SGD.

Background and Purpose

Recent results of microbiome research have revealed the relationship between the bacterial flora in various parts of the body (intestine, skin, oral cavity, etc.) and various diseases. Advanced medical treatments for intestinal diseases using the intestinal microbiome have officially started in Japan and abroad, and microbiome drugs are being developed for various chronic diseases such as skin diseases (including atopic dermatitis) and psychiatric disorders (including depression).

KINS has been expanding its consumer healthcare and clinic businesses for humans, dogs and cats, and has been conducting research on the relationship between the microbiome and chronic diseases. KINS has succeeded in acquiring several proprietary microbiome strains that are expected to be effective in treating certain diseases and symptoms.

In the future, we will activate the bacteria banking project with the goal of collecting samples for approximately 1,000 people by 2025, and continue our research to acquire more proprietary microbiome strains. The next important milestone for KINS will be to accumulate evidence through a series of related studies, establish a system for mass production of our proprietary bacteria strains, and achieve actual commercialization of products in order to deliver highly promising proprietary bacteria strains to many people suffering from certain diseases and symptoms, both through our own products (B2C) and by providing bacteria strains to other companies as raw materials (B2B2C).

As an example of our proprietary microbiome strain, KINS has its own proprietary lactic acid bacteria that produce polyamines, which can help alleviate oxidative stress associated with the risk of developing chronic diseases and cancer, and which have been suggested to extend healthy lifespan. We are exploring the commercialization of this microbiome strain as foods, supplement and other products. KINS also aims to accumulate evidence for its proprietary indigenous skin microbiome in relation to specific chronic skin diseases through research conducted at its Singapore clinic and in-house laboratory.

Two main activities will be carried out with this funding.

1. Commercialization of KINS’ proprietary microbiome strains
   • Promote research on the relationship between the polyamine-producing lactic acid bacteria/proprietary indigenous skin microbiome strains (including their metabolites) and target chronic diseases/symptoms
   • Establish mass production system for these microbiome strains
   • Lauch B2B sales of proprietary microbiome to other companies as raw materials for food, pet care products and various other product types
   • Develop new products using proprietary microbiome strains in our existing businesses such as skin care products
   • Enter new countries after Singapore and Taiwan, leveraging proprietary microbiome strains
     
2. Expand our microbiome research capability
   • Expand the microbiome banking project to include the intestinal (human) and oral (dogs) microbiome. In addition, establish a sample storage and management process
   • Accelerate research on microbiome drug discovery seeds for proprietary microbiome stains that have potential as drug seeds
   • Expand the consumer healthcare business and increase the number of human and veterinary clinics

The funds raised will be used primarily for various activities related to research and development related to 1 above, and for expansion of research facilities related to 2 above (including expansion of in-house laboratory space and purchase of advanced equipment for microbiome research).

By further accelerating research on the microbiome and health in the skin, gut, oral and various other parts of the body, and by bringing KINS’ unique solutions to more people, we will make further contributions to solving chronic diseases/symptoms through the microbiome.

Investors and Lenders

［Private Placement]

• Moriroku Holdings Company, Ltd.
• The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited
• SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd.
• Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd.

［Bank Loans]

• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
• The Shizuoka Bank, Ltd.
• Japan Finance Corporation
• The Bank of Nagoya, Ltd.
• Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
• The Higashi-Nippon Bank, Ltd.

Comments from our underwriters

Moriroku Holdings Company, Ltd.

Moriroku Holdings shares KINS’ philosophy and desire to fundamentally solve chronic diseases through microbiome drug discovery, and will build a strong partnership to achieve mutual growth through business collaboration. We will also take on the challenge of further expanding our healthcare business, which is related to the life science field, one of the new business areas set out in the Group’s mid-term management plan, “2030 Vision”.

The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited

We have been actively supporting startup companies that seek to solve social problems and create innovation by leveraging our unique position as a life insurance company that can provide long-term funding. In recent years, a series of research results have shown that there is a close relationship between the microbiome and human health and various diseases, and we believe that KINS’ efforts will contribute to the realization of healthy lives for people. We have high expectations that this fund raising will accelerate the development of products utilizing KINS’ proprietary microbiome, as well as research and development related to microbiome effective for human health and various symptoms and diseases.

SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd.

We believe that KINS is unique in its ability to organically develop three different business models (Consumer Healthcare Business, Clinic Business and KINS Labs) and that its diverse organization and management team have the management capabilities to make this happen. We hope that SMBC Group will support the growth of KINS’ microbiome business expansion.

Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd.

KINS is developing a unique business by advancing the research and development of the microbiome, focusing on the development of proprietary microbiome and expanding its application to consumer health care for people and pets. Mizuho Capital is excited to participate in KINS’ challenge through this investment. Together with CEO Shimokawa and all of its employees, we will continue to contribute to the realization of innovative solutions through the microbiome.

Message from Yutaka Shimokawa, CEO

I founded KINS in 2018 with the aim of providing fundamental solutions for chronic diseases, based on my clinical experience with various chronic diseases as the former president of a medical clinic group. In less than five years since its establishment, we have provided microbiome care services to more than 80,000 people and built a unique microbiome analysis platform by establishing our own laboratory (2020) and starting our own clinic business (2022). As a result of these efforts, we have reached a state where we are able to acquire proprietary microbiome and raw materials that are expected to be effective in treating chronic diseases and symptoms, and conduct research on proprietary microbiome that may become seeds for pharmaceutical drugs. We are very grateful to all our stakeholders who have supported us during this period and to our team who have worked day by day, step by step, to advance our business.

From now on, it will be important to bring the results of our research to the world through our own products, B2B sales, and the development of drug discovery seeds. In addition, we will continue to expand our product and clinical business and enter new countries after Singapore and Taiwan to bring our solutions to more people. We are pleased to have new shareholders and partners who believe in the potential of our company to meet these further challenges. With this funding, we are more committed than ever to contributing to the fundamental solution of chronic diseases through the microbiome.

KINS’ Business Model

KINS leverages the strength of its Consumer Healthcare business, Clinic business and Research business to conduct everything from the search for proprietary microbiomes and raw materials that may be effective in treating chronic diseases and symptoms to the development of new products in-house.

In the consumer healthcare business, we collect microbiomes from users as a microbiome bank and efficiently search for useful microbiomes from them while developing products for the skin, intestines and oral cavity of humans, dogs and cats.

We conduct research in our own laboratory on disease-related microbiome and its characteristics, based on the difference between the microbiome of healthy people and those with specific chronic diseases and symptoms collected in our own clinics.

The proprietary microbiome and raw materials discovered in this research that are expected to be effective in treating chronic diseases and symptoms will be used in our business and provided to other companies as raw materials, and certain proprietary microbiome strains will be researched and developed as seeds for microbiome drug discovery.

The strength of KINS lies in its ability to complete the entire process from microbiome seed discovery to development in-house, one after another, at high speed. In addition, KINS opened the KINS Clinic in August this year in Singapore. This clinic follows the opening of the KINS WITH Veterinary Clinic in Japan last year, and is a step forward in deepening the KINS business model for chronic diseases and conditions related to human skin.

KINS Corporate　SITE：https://corporate.yourkins.com/

KINS WEB SITE：https://yourkins.com/

KINS Clinic WEB SITE：https://www.kins-clinic.com/

KINS WITH Veterinary Clinic WEB SITE：https://kinswith-vet.com/

Source in Japanese: PR TIMES