News

Promotion of joint development for the domestic and international expansion of home blood glucose monitoring services and third-party allotment of Series C3 preferred shares to TAUNS

PROVIGATE, Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Koshin Sekimizu; hereinafter “the Company”), which develops and provides home-use compact testing devices and a behavioral change support app for diabetes using glycated albumin (GA), announces that it has reached a basic agreement to proceed with a capital and business alliance with TAUNS Laboratories, Inc. (Headquarters: Izunokuni-shi, Shizuoka; Representative Director and President: Masaki Nonaka; Securities Code: 197A, TSE Standard Market; hereinafter “TAUNS”).

This alliance aims to achieve the social implementation of a home GA monitoring service that allows individuals with diabetes and prediabetes to easily and continuously monitor their blood glucose status at home, by integrating our glycated albumin (GA) measurement technology with the D-IA (Digital Immunoassay) technology of TAUNS, a leading POCT company.
By realizing a system where as many people as possible can notice changes in their blood glucose in their daily lives and comfortably improve their lifestyle habits, both companies will contribute to extending healthy life expectancy.

Background of the Alliance
The number of people with diabetes and prediabetes worldwide is estimated to reach 1.2 billion [1], posing a major challenge not only in terms of quality of life (QOL) deterioration but also from a health economics perspective. In recent years, while it has become a scientific consensus that continuous self-monitoring of blood glucose status encourages lifestyle improvements (behavioral changes) and leads to improved blood glucose levels [2], there are insufficient means for everyday blood glucose monitoring for type 2 diabetes, which accounts for the majority of people with diabetes [3]. Existing self-monitoring of blood glucose has challenges in terms of cost, invasiveness, and insurance coverage for daily use, and currently, many people can only know their blood glucose during hospital visits once every few months.

Our Initiatives
In response to this social issue, we focus on glycated albumin (GA) [4], an optimal blood glucose indicator that acutely reflects average blood glucose over a few days to about a week to encourage behavioral changes, and we have commercialized “glucoreview®,” a GA mail-in testing service that enables weekly monitoring at home. Furthermore, by combining AI applications and remote healthcare, we aim to “visualize” blood glucose changes and build a sustainable service model that supports individualized lifestyle improvements and better access to medical care.

Overview of the Alliance
The Company and TAUNS have reached a basic agreement to proceed with a business alliance contract aimed at expanding the home blood glucose monitoring service, alongside TAUNS underwriting Series C3 preferred shares issued by the Company.

TAUNS is a TSE Standard Market listed company that handles in vitro diagnostics and POCT products, including immunochromatography, and possesses high-quality manufacturing and a stable supply foundation under the slogan, “Delivering peace of mind everyday with diagnostic technology.” This alliance is an initiative to expand TAUNS’s diagnostic technology and manufacturing foundation cultivated in the infectious disease field into the chronic disease field. By bringing together the strengths of both companies, we will accelerate the practical application of home blood glucose monitoring.

Specifically, we will integrate the glycated albumin (GA) measurement technology being developed by the Company with the D-IA (Digital Immunoassay) technology possessed by TAUNS to establish and commercialize next-generation GA monitoring technology and systems that can be utilized more easily in daily life. Through this, we aim to provide a system where users can continuously grasp their condition in familiar environments, such as at home, leading to daily lifestyle improvements. In the medium to long term, we will establish this initiative as a new option for chronic disease management and work towards its domestic and international popularization, with a view to obtaining future manufacturing and sales approval as a medical device.

Based on this alliance, we will strengthen the framework of open innovation by a group of collaborating companies, including the Company and TAUNS, and contribute to extending healthy life expectancy and, by extension, improving global public health.

Comments from Both Companies
Comment from Masaki Nonaka, Representative Director and President, TAUNS Laboratories, Inc.
In our medium-term management plan, our company has positioned entry into the chronic disease field as one of our important growth strategies. Among these, we have positioned diabetes as a priority area due to the large number of patients globally and the high importance of blood glucose monitoring.
Through this basic agreement on a capital and business alliance with PROVIGATE, we will integrate the GA measurement technology being developed by PROVIGATE with our next-generation POCT technology, D-IA, to develop a new home blood glucose monitoring POCT. We will proactively fulfill our role in the highly socially significant area of supporting behavioral changes in people with diabetes.
Moving forward, together with PROVIGATE’s advanced ideas and technology, we hope to realize our corporate slogan, “Delivering peace of mind everyday with diagnostic technology,” and contribute to the world.

Comment from Koshin Sekimizu, Representative Director and CEO, PROVIGATE, Inc.
To date, many startups worldwide have taken on the challenge of solving blood glucose monitoring issues using advanced technologies. However, innovative services are not easily born. One of the major hurdles is the weakness of the “manufacturing” foundation.
We are very pleased to have reached a basic agreement regarding a capital and business alliance with TAUNS, a leading POCT company that embodies the strength of Japanese manufacturing. We hope to bring PROVIGATE’s open innovation initiatives to fruition here and realize a business that contributes to global public health as soon as possible.

Overview of the Alliance Partner
Name
TAUNS Laboratories, Inc.

Location
761-1 Kamishima, Izunokuni-shi, Shizuoka

Title and Name of Representative
Representative Director and President Masaki Nonaka

Securities Code
197A (Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market)

Business Description
R&D, manufacturing, and sales of in vitro diagnostics and testing reagents (POCT / Immunochromatography, etc.)

Corporate Website
https://www.tauns.co.jp/

Company Overview
Company Name
PROVIGATE, Inc.

Location
Todaimae HiRAKU GATE 5F, 2-3-10 Mukougaoka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

Representative
Representative Director and CEO Koshin Sekimizu

Business Description
Development and provision of the blood glucose monitoring service “glucoreview” using glycated albumin

Contact Information Regarding this Matter
PROVIGATE, Inc.
E-mail: info@provigate.com
Corporate Website: https://provigate.com/

[1] Estimates of adults with diabetes and prediabetes by the International Diabetes Federation (2024).
[2] Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics. 2024;26:252–262.
[3] Diabetes is broadly divided into type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes requires self-injection of insulin as insulin secretion almost completely stops. Since insulin is a highly potent protein formulation and an incorrect dosage can cause dangerous hypoglycemia, self-monitoring of blood glucose is covered by insurance alongside it to adjust injection units and avoid acute hypoglycemia. In type 2 diabetes, while insulin effectiveness decreases (insulin resistance), patients retain some self-insulin secretion, and except for some severe cases, the majority do not require insulin self-injection. Behavioral change through diet, exercise, and oral medication is the center of management. For this reason, self-monitoring of blood glucose is not covered by insurance for most type 2 patients not undergoing insulin therapy.
[4] Glycated Albumin (GA): Also called glycosylated albumin. It is formed when albumin, one of the most abundant proteins in the blood, is glycated by glucose in the blood. The ratio of glycated albumin to total albumin is generally expressed as a GA value (%), which is known to strongly reflect the average blood glucose level over the most recent 1 to 2 weeks. It has the advantage of being measurable at any time, as it is not significantly affected by recent meals. In Japan, it is established as a standard blood test method at medical institutions and is covered by insurance.