PROVIGATE Announces Basic Agreement for Capital and Business Alliance with Tauns, a Leading POCT Company

PROVIGATE, Inc. (headquartered in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yasunobu Sekimizu; hereinafter “the Company”), a company developing and providing home-use compact diagnostic devices and diabetes behavior change support applications using Glycated Albumin (GA), announces that it has reached a basic agreement with Tauns, Inc. (headquartered in Izu-no-Kuni City, Shizuoka Prefecture; President and CEO: Masaki Nonaka; TSE Standard Market Code: 197A; hereinafter “Tauns”) regarding a capital and business alliance.

This alliance aims to integrate the Company’s Glycated Albumin (GA) measurement technology with Tauns’, a leading POCT company, D-IA (Digital Immunoassay) technology, to achieve social implementation of a home-based GA monitoring service. This service will enable people with diabetes and those at risk to conveniently and continuously monitor their own blood glucose status at home.

Both companies aim to contribute to extending healthy life expectancy by realizing a system that enables as many people as possible to recognize changes in their blood glucose levels in daily life and naturally connect this awareness to improvements in lifestyle habits.

Background of the Alliance

It is estimated that the global population of people with diabetes and those at risk exceeds 1.2 billion [1], posing significant challenges not only to quality of life (QOL) but also to healthcare economics. While it is increasingly becoming a scientific consensus that continuous self-monitoring of blood glucose levels promotes lifestyle improvements (behavioral change) and leads to better glycemic control [2], the majority of people with type 2 diabetes, who constitute most diabetes cases, lack adequate means to monitor their blood glucose levels in daily life [3]. Existing self-monitoring methods face challenges in terms of cost, invasiveness, and insurance coverage, leaving most individuals able to check their blood glucose only during medical visits every few months.

The Company’s Initiatives

In response to this social challenge, the Company has focused on Glycated Albumin (GA) [4]—a blood glucose indicator that sensitively reflects average glucose levels over several days to about one week—as an optimal marker to promote behavioral change. The Company has commercialized 'glucoreview®', a mail-in GA testing service enabling weekly monitoring at home. Furthermore, by integrating AI applications and remote healthcare, the Company aims to visualize changes in blood glucose levels and build a sustainable service model that supports individual lifestyle improvements and enhanced access to medical care.

Overview of the Alliance

The Company and Tauns have reached a basic agreement whereby Tauns will acquire C3 series preferred shares issued by the Company and proceed with a business alliance agreement aimed at expanding the adoption of home-based blood glucose monitoring services.

Tauns develops in vitro diagnostic pharmaceuticals and POCT products, including immunochromatography, and operates under the slogan “Diagnostic Technology for Peace of Mind Every Day.” As a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market, it has a foundation of high-quality manufacturing and stable supply. This alliance also represents Tauns’ initiative to extend its diagnostic technologies and manufacturing infrastructure, cultivated in the infectious disease field, into the chronic disease domain. By combining their respective strengths, both companies will accelerate the practical implementation of home-based blood glucose monitoring.

Specifically, the two companies aim to establish and commercialize next-generation GA monitoring technologies and systems by integrating the GA measurement technology being developed by the Company with Tauns’ D-IA (Digital Immunoassay) technology. This integration will enable users to continuously monitor their own health status in familiar environments such as their homes and connect this awareness to daily lifestyle improvements. In the medium to long term, the companies aim to establish this initiative as a new option for chronic disease management, target manufacturing and marketing approval as a medical device, and promote its adoption domestically and internationally.

Building on this alliance, the Company, together with Tauns and other partner companies, will strengthen its open innovation framework to contribute to extending healthy life expectancy and, ultimately, improving global public health.

Comments from Both Companies

Comment from Masaki Nonaka, President and CEO, Tauns, Inc.

“In our mid-term management plan, we have positioned entry into the chronic disease field as a key growth strategy. Among these, we have identified diabetes—a condition with a large global patient population and high importance of glucose monitoring—as a priority area.

Through this basic agreement for a capital and business alliance with PROVIGATE, we will integrate PROVIGATE’s GA measurement technology with our next-generation POCT technology, D-IA, to develop a new home-based blood glucose monitoring POCT. We aim to actively contribute in the socially significant area of supporting behavioral change for people with diabetes.

Going forward, we will work together with PROVIGATE’s advanced ideas and technologies to realize our corporate slogan, ‘Diagnostic Technology for Peace of Mind Every Day,’ and contribute globally.”

Comment from Yasunobu Sekimizu, CEO, PROVIGATE, Inc.

“Globally, many startups have leveraged advanced technologies to address challenges in blood glucose monitoring. However, innovative services are not easily created. One major hurdle has been the weakness in the foundation of ‘manufacturing.’

We are very pleased to have reached a basic agreement for a capital and business alliance with Tauns, a leading POCT company that embodies the strength of Japanese manufacturing. We believe this marks the fruition of PROVIGATE’s open innovation initiatives and aim to realize a business that contributes to global public health as soon as possible.”

Overview of the Counterparty

Name

Tauns, Inc.

Headquarters

761-1 Kamijima, Izu-no-Kuni City, Shizuoka Prefecture

Representative Title and Name

President and CEO Masaki Nonaka

Securities Code

197A (Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market)

Business Activities

Research, development, manufacturing, and sales of in vitro diagnostic pharmaceuticals, test reagents, etc. (POCT / immunochromatography, etc.)

Corporate Website

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

Company Overview

PROVIGATE, Inc.

Headquarters: 2-3-10 Mukougaoka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 5F, HIRAKU GATE, Tokyo University Front

Representative: CEO Yasunobu Sekimizu

Business Activities: Development and provision of 'glucoreview', a blood glucose monitoring service using Glycated Albumin

[Contact for this matter]

PROVIGATE, Inc.

E-mail: [email protected]

Corporate Website: https://provigate.com/

[1] Estimate of adults with diabetes and those at risk by the International Diabetes Federation (2024).

[2] Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics. 2024;26:252–262.

[3] Diabetes is broadly classified into type 1 and type 2. Type 1 requires insulin self-injection because the body can no longer secrete insulin. Insulin is a potent protein formulation, and incorrect dosage can lead to dangerous hypoglycemia. Therefore, accompanying self-blood glucose monitoring is essential for adjusting dosage units and avoiding acute hypoglycemia.

[4] Japan Diabetes Society’s Recommendations on the Clinical Utility of GA (2021)