Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

Northern Kentucky may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about life sciences hubs. Boston has its Kendall Square biotech cluster. San Diego dominates medical device innovation. The Research Triangle in North Carolina has been a pharma powerhouse for decades. Silicon Valley continues to attract digital health startups, while Minneapolis remains a medtech manufacturing stronghold thanks to Medtronic's legacy. Globally, cities like Basel, Switzerland, and Singapore have built reputations as life sciences centers through decades of investment in research infrastructure and regulatory expertise. Even emerging hubs like Indianapolis and Salt Lake City have spent years cultivating their identities as medtech destinations. But Northern Kentucky is making a case that it belongs in the conversation, and the numbers back it up. The region's life sciences sector posted 42% employment growth between 2020 and 2025, with projections pointing to another 21.5% increase through 2029. One week ago, Thermo Fisher Scientific opened a new distribution center in Independence, Kentucky, combining robotics, automation, and AI to serve customers across North America. The facility is part of a broader expansion that has added nearly 500 jobs in the past three years, bringing Thermo Fisher's total regional workforce to almost 1,300 employees. The growth isn't limited to Thermo Fisher. Clinical trial services company CTI moved its headquarters to Northern Kentucky nearly a decade ago and continues to expand. Mitsui has entered the market through life science labs, and the state has invested $25 million into Life Sci KY, a biosafety level two wet lab designed to support early-stage innovation and help startups commercialize in the region. Northern Kentucky's pitch is straightforward: it offers the infrastructure and talent of established hubs without the cost. The region sits within one day's reach of 60% of the North American population and has direct access to UPS and DHL's global cargo hubs, making it a logistics advantage for companies trying to serve domestic and international markets. It also benefits from Cincinnati's legacy as a manufacturing center, with a deep bench of machine tool expertise and contract manufacturers that support medical device production. The question is whether Northern Kentucky can sustain this momentum and compete with regions that have spent decades building their life sciences ecosystems—or if it's simply benefiting from a post-COVID reshoring wave that may not last. Lee Crume, President & CEO of BE NKY, an economic development company for Northern Kentucky, connected with MD+DI to discuss what's driving the region's life sciences growth, how Northern Kentucky is positioning itself against established hubs, and whether the 42% employment surge is sustainable or a temporary post-pandemic spike. Northern Kentucky has seen 42% employment growth in life sciences between 2020 and 2025. What's driving this explosive growth, and is it sustainable? Crume: Sustainable, yes, but 42% is a big number. This is a growing part of our market. Our expectation is it will continue to grow, but maybe not at that rate. We do think it will remain an important sector for the community going forward. What's driving the growth is the same thing driving it everywhere. That is post-COVID, companies are realizing these global supply chains are too thin and there is a need to get back to manufacturing things here. That is a message we have heard across every sector, whether it’s medical devices, healthcare, drug manufacturing, or food and flavoring, there has been a real recognition of serving markets from the local market. You've attracted major players like Thermo Fisher Scientific in the past months. What's your pitch to these global life sciences companies, and why are they choosing Northern Kentucky over other regions? Crume: Thermo has been a great example of a company that has been here and we helped grow. They added almost 500 jobs in the last three years, and they have almost 1,300 employees total in the community now. What is appealing for Thermo is we sit at this intersection where you are trying to commercialize and grow your business, and you have an intersection of assets that help you get that done. You are getting out of high cost areas, like San Diego or Boston, but it’s hard to commercialize in those spaces because it's very expensive. Everything not done in those expensive cities is a cost opportunity. One of the other things that comes into play is you have to have critical infrastructure. A community like Cincinnati has been the capital of the machine tool world forever. The community knows how to make things. I am sitting here today on a pair of Stryker hips, and those hips are milled on machines that were made in the Cincinnati community. You have low costs, the ability to make things, a talent pipeline fueled by a ton of surrounding major universities that we draw from, and you have the ability to distribute products globally, which is hard to beat from Cincinnati. If you are serving the North American market, you are within one day of 60% of that population. If you want to serve the global market, you have direct access to UPS, DHL’s superhub, and other cargo carriers around. We are bringing all of these factors together in a way that makes us unique and stand out. The region is projecting another 21.5% employment increase through 2029. What infrastructure investments or policy changes are you making to support that kind of continued expansion? Crume: I think the most notable thing, which is in a different space on the innovation side, is you see the investment going into Life Sci KY, which is our bio safety level two wet lab. We have invested, as a state, $25 million into that lab to bring innovation into the space. The state itself, with more mature companies, is continuing to modernize its incentive programs to incentivize those, and works with partners to make sure we have the right sites and spaces available for them if they want to build a new facility, or need office or lab space. We are really investing, all the way from the innovation to mature company spectrum. Thermo Fisher's new distribution center in Independence combines robotics, automation, and AI. Are you seeing other companies in the region adopt similar advanced manufacturing and supply chain technologies? Crume: Absolutely yes. Thermo is a great example of automation and AI. We are seeing all employers across the spectrum significantly invest in technology. So many people still have a view of a distribution center or a manufacturing job that doesn't exist today. If you go to the new Thermo Fisher center, it’s clean, it’s bright, it’s air conditioned, and technology driven. It is very much the same across manufacturing, whether you are making packaging equipment or aerospace parts or machines that make machines. They all look that way, and they are all investing heavily in those spaces. Beyond Thermo Fisher, what other major life sciences investments or expansions have happened in Northern Kentucky recently that we should know about? Crume: One that continues to invest is CTI. They are in the clinical trial side of the drug world. They moved their headquarters to Northern Kentucky around eight or nine years ago, and they continue to be a really strong player in the community. You are seeing companies like Mitsui come to the market through life science labs. With this kind of rapid growth, how are you addressing workforce development? Crume: There are a few ways. We are partnering closely with the universities, so we have an understanding and pipeline for their talent to stay in the community, working with the legislator to promote the life science industry and other skilled trades and making investments in that space, and then locally, we are working to connect the Thermo Fishers of the world with our K-12 systems so kids starting as early as kindergarten can get a visualization of what the world of work looks like, and what it looks like here. Whether you are at Thermo’s new distribution facility, or a manufacturer, the work world of today looks very different, as it is clean, efficient, and technology driven. We are teaching kids as early as kindergarten what that looks like, educating their parents on that, and working with schools to build out bespoke pathways so that by the time a kid gets to middle school, they want to start to get their fingers dirty on life sciences. We are helping schools build pathways by connecting them to employers in those spaces. We are really taking a broad lens on how to support that pipeline. Looking ahead five years, what does success look like for Northern Kentucky's life sciences sector? Crume: On the innovation side, I would love to see the life sciences lab continue on the path it’s on. Not just bringing in and keeping the lab full, but graduating companies that call North Kentucky home. Being that viable front door to the life sciences community in Kentucky I think would be a major step of success. We are definitely in the market to bring to the community either a major device manufacturer or a drug or drug agent manufacturer. Landing one or two of those over the next five years, and continuing that growth, would be a really nice story for us. The reality is, saying those things are not aspirational. For us, all of those elements for that to take place are here. We have a growing pipeline of companies, reshoring, the technology and workforce aspect, land and sites, and it’s all about getting those to line up on a deal. Anything else you want to expand on? Crume: The key message is that every community in America is probably talking about life sciences at this point. What makes Northern Kentucky different from the Bostons, San Francisco's, Indianapolises, is the intersection of resources to be successful. This isn’t an if you come we will build it situation. The resources are already here to be capitalized on. That is why you see several companies already taking advantage of growing their core business here.

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Asahi Kasei, a diversified global company, has announced plans to streamline operations at its Mizushima Works by fiscal 2030. There will be no immediate impact on the company’s supply of derivative products. The businesses covered by this initiative recorded revenue of ¥116.2 billion 1 in fiscal 2025, compared with ¥1,306.2 billion for the Material segment overall. These measures, targeted for completion by fiscal 2030, align with the previously announced cessation of ethylene production at Asahi Kasei Mitsubishi Chemical Ethylene Corp. (AMEC), further advancing the company’s efforts to enhance capital efficiency and strengthen long-term profitability. Product Applications FY 2030 Scope Styrene monomer Resin feedstock, etc. Discontinuation of production Suntec™-LD and Suntec™-EVA low-density polyethylene (LDPE) Various films, packaging materials, sundry goods, etc. Suntec™-HD and Creolex™ high-density polyethylene (HDPE) Acrylonitrile (AN) Resin feedstock, fiber feedstock, etc. Discontinuation of Mizushima 200 kt/y AN line and conversion of 50 kt/y methacrylonitrile (MAN) line to AN/MAN co-production, with continued AN supply through Tongsuh Petrochemical (South Korea). Duranol™ polycarbonate diol (PCD) Polyurethane feedstock for synthetic leather, etc. Discontinuation of Mizushima ≈3 kt/y PCD line; supply maintained via Asahi Kasei Performance Chemicals (China), etc. Asahi Kasei’s discontinuation of these derivatives and realignment of its supply chain form part of a broader initiative to streamline its Material sector portfolio and enhance capital efficiency. These measures are intended to exit businesses where profitability has become inherently challenging and to restructure the related supply chains within the global petrochemical markets. This is expected to improve margins and reduce cash outflows associated with maintaining these operations, enabling the strategic reallocation of capital toward higher-value opportunities. Such disciplined portfolio management reinforces Asahi Kasei’s focus on areas with stronger long-term return potential. Under its three-year medium-term management plan “Trailblaze Together,” Asahi Kasei is improving capital efficiency and accelerating earnings by converting past growth investments into tangible returns. To support this, the company is implementing structural reforms that channel resources to its key growth pillars—pharmaceuticals, critical care, overseas homes, and electronics. Recent actions such as entering a basic agreement with Mitsui Chemicals and Mitsubishi Chemical to promote the decarbonization of ethylene production in western Japan , and acquiring Aicuris to strengthen its specialty pharma platform in severe infectious diseases , demonstrate Asahi Kasei’s disciplined execution of this strategy and reinforce the foundation for sustained, profitable growth. About Asahi Kasei Asahi Kasei is a diversified global company that contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922, with businesses in ammonia and cellulose fiber, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through proactive portfolio transformation to meet the evolving needs of every age. With 50,000 employees worldwide, the company contributes to sustainability by providing solutions to the world’s challenges across its three business sectors: Healthcare, Homes, and Material. For more information, visit . 1 Total gross sales of the relevant products, including internal transactions. Contacts North America Contact: Asahi Kasei America Inc. Christian OKeefe christian.okeefe@ak-america.com Europe Contact: Asahi Kasei Europe GmbH Sebastian Schmidt sebastian.schmidt@asahi-kasei.eu

GEXVal Inc. September 2, 2025 GEXVal Inc. (President and CEO: Juran Kato, PhD; Location: Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan, hereinafter “GEXVal”) is pleased to announce that Dr. Taketoshi Kobayashi, Senior Director of Clinical Development Unit, will present at the "Current State of Drug Discovery Venture Ecosystem" event, co-hosted by the Life Science Innovation Network Japan (LINK-J) and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), following an invitation from AMED. [Event Overview] This event aims to share insights on the current state and potential of drug discovery venture support, providing opportunities for industry-academia collaboration and new business creation. The event is expected to serve as a platform for further promoting AMED's Drug Discovery Venture Ecosystem Enhancement Program and fostering mutual understanding and dialogue between venture capital firms and startups. **Presentation Details** Event Name Current State of Drug Discovery Venture Ecosystem Date September 12, 2025 (Friday), 13:00-19:40 (Presentation: 16:25-17:10) Venue Nihonbashi Life Science Building, 2nd Floor, Conference Room 201 URL LINK-J × AMED Current State of Drug Discovery Venture Ecosystem https://www.link-j.org/event/article-48145.html　(Japanese-only) [GEXVal's AMED Grant Recognition] GEXVal has been selected for AMED's FY2024 "Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem." For more details, please refer to our previous news release: GEXVal Selected for AMED's 'Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem' https://gexval.com/en/rd-en/gexval-selected-for-ameds-strengthening-program-for-pharmaceutical-startup-ecosystem/ [About LINK-J] The Life Science Innovation Network Japan (LINK-J) is a general incorporated association established in 2016 by Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a major real estate developer of the Mitsui Group, together with academia and industry stakeholders. Based in Nihonbashi, Tokyo's historic pharmaceutical district with over 400 years of drug business heritage dating back to the Shogun period (Edo period), LINK-J promotes open innovation and ecosystem building across the life sciences spectrum, fostering collaboration among industry, government, academia, and venture companies both domestically and internationally. For more information: https://www.link-j.org/en/about/overseas/ [About GEXVal] GEXVal strives to create and develop innovative pharmaceuticals for unmet medical needs, ensuring Treatment Reaches the Unreached with focus on rare diseases and underserved medical conditions. By leveraging our proprietary AI-powered pharmacoinformatics technology, we illuminate paths to breakthrough therapies, identifying hidden potential in drug candidates to deliver life-changing medicines that bring new hope to patients and their families. For further information: Head of Corporate Office Atsushi Sugizaki info@gexval.com