American Peptide Company, Inc. today announced that its parent company, Ito Life Sciences (Ibaraki, Japan), will be acquired by Otsuka Chemical Company (Osaka, Japan), part of the Otsuka Group (Osaka, Japan).  Otsuka Chemical Company will be the new owner of American Peptide Company and Ito Life Sciences Shanghai, both subsidiaries of Ito Life Sciences, beginning September 1, 2008.  Ito Life Sciences is currently owned by Itoham Foods.

"American Peptide Company is poised to benefit greatly from this acquisition,” says Takahiro Ogata, president and COO, American Peptide Company.  “By operating as an enterprise of Otsuka Chemical Company, we will create new global networking opportunities as well as channel more financial resources to our production and manufacturing facilities.  As a result, we will enhance our Total Peptide Management services to our customers.”

The Total Peptide Management program is a customized service platform that offers a broad array of high-quality peptides, value-added services, and expert consultation.  Leveraging the experience and expertise of the American Peptide Company’s leadership team, the program helps pharmaceutical and biotech customers properly select peptides and follow correct procedures and compliance guidelines from research development through scale-up to full manufacturing.

As American Peptide Company continues to build its technical capabilities and customer base with its service-oriented Total Peptide Management program, it will be a critical asset to the Otsuka Chemical Company portfolio.  Additionally, American Peptide Company is expanding its facilities in Vista and Sunnyvale, California to accommodate large scale peptide production at the kilogram scale for the company’s growing customer network.

About American Peptide Company, Inc.

American Peptide Company is a leading manufacturer of peptides and peptide conjugates. The company offers comprehensive selection of pre-manufactured catalog peptides, custom synthesis, and GMP generic peptide active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).  Its manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California, offers research grade peptides to customers, and its Vista facility, also in California, provides GMP manufacturing and services. The company offers a portfolio of value-added services, including process development, scale-up production, analytical and process validation, stability studies, CMC, DMF, and regulatory support.

American Peptide Company is experienced in solid-phase and solution-phase peptide synthesis, as well as organic conjugations, proteins and PEG.

About Otsuka Chemical Company

The Otsuka Chemical Company is an international company based out of Osaka, Japan with additional locations in Spain, Indonesia, India, Korea, China, Brazil and the United States.  Established in 1950, its 1700-employee global workforce is dedicated to developing new materials, industrial chemicals, and pharmaceutical & agro chemicals while actively protecting the global environment.  Otsuka Chemical Company has garnered widespread industry recognition due to its strong client relationships, and aims to continue this approach with its strategic acquisition of Ito Life Sciences.

About Ito Life Sciences

Ito Life Sciences, Inc., parent company of American Peptide Company runs pharmaceutical, functional food ingredients and peptide businesses in Japan. It is particularly strong in peptide and animal-derived APIs.