"NKCP" patented as a blood viscosity reducing agent in Taiwan

"NKCP" patented as a blood viscosity reducing agent in Taiwan

Daiwa Pharmaceutical applied to the Taiwan government for a patent for “NKCP,” purified filtrate of Bacillus subtilis natto culture and the product was officially approved for patent registration. The patent registration of this product (under patent application in Japan) as a blood viscosity reducing agent is the second one following registration in Korea in April.

“NKCP,” a product derived from Bacillus subtilis natto has been shown to have a variety of actions including thrombolysis, delaying blood coagulation, and inhibiting thrombus formation. This patent registration as a blood viscosity reducing agent means that “NKCP” has been approved to have a new function. The registration also means that the product has proved more reliable and higher expectations are being placed upon it.

It was reported from around 1990 that the natto-derived fibrinolytic substance nattokinase is a subtilisin protease. However, the main active component of “NKCP” was shown to be a fragment of bacillopeptidase F different from the nattokinase in amino acid sequence after purification and analysis using various instruments.

“NKCP” was tested in safety studies required for application for a food for specified health use. As a result, it was confirmed to have no problem of safety in all the studies including single dose and repeated dose toxicity studies, an antigenicity study, mutagenicity study, and excess administration study. For efficacy, it was observed to have a fibrinolytic effect on thrombi like the conventional nattokinase and further to inhibit blood coagulation and reduce blood viscosity.

The determination of blood viscosity used a method by Associate professor Hitosugi et al. at the Department of Legal Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, in which fresh blood immediately after collection was measured with an oscillating viscometer. The blood viscosity reducing effect was confirmed in in vitro and human clinical studies, using the determination method.

Associate professor Masahito Hitosugi, a specialist in thrombosis has long engaged in research on “NKCP” and has been involved in the patent application. He said, “I intend further to clarify the mechanism of action of bacillopeptidase F in clinical studies.”

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