Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory receives the Asia-Pacific Gel Immersion Endoscopy New Product Innovation Award of the 2023 Best Practice Award from Frost & Sullivan

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory, Inc. (Head Office: Naruto, Tokushima, Japan; President and Representative Director: Shinichi Ogasawara; "OPF") has received the "Asia-Pacific Gel Immersion Endoscopy^*1 New Product Innovation Award" of the "2023 Best Practice Award" sponsored by Frost & Sullivan, a leading growth advisory & growth opportunity analytics firm (Head office: Texas, U.S.). This award was presented in recognition of delivering an innovative product that solves the issue for securing a visual field of gastrointestinal endoscopy.

With 62 years of history, Frost & Sullivan, which has more than 40 locations and over 1,800 analysts worldwide, has given the "Best Practice Awards" for excellence in numerous industrial and service sectors over the past 22 years.

OPF was highly evaluated by Frost & Sullivan for providing "VISCOCLEAR^®," a gel to secure the visual field used for the endoscope for natural opening,^*2 which had been developed and launched in October 2020, as a solution to the issue for securing a visual field of gastrointestinal endoscopy. Regarding the award, Madiha Siddiqui, a Senior Consultant for Frost & Sullivan, who assessed the product, says, "VISCOCLEAR helps maintain a clear visual field during endoscopic procedures to identify the bleeding site or view inside the GI tract for further intervention. The product's strategy is to provide high-quality patient care, reduce endoscopic surgery time, and improve resection rates."

OPF will continue to promote research and development in the area of surgical aid medicine and aim to contribute to medical care by creating innovative products.

Based on the corporate philosophy of "Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide," the Otsuka Group is dedicated to contributing to the health of people around the world.

^*1 Gel Immersion Endoscopy: The method devised by Dr. Tomonori Yano, Department of Gastroenterology, Jichi Medical University, for ensuring an endoscopic view by injecting the transparent gel during poor visual field by bleeding, etc. to push away blood or blood clots to create a transparent space.
^*2 A natural opening in the human body, such as the mouth or nose.
^*3 A gel-shaped product with viscosity that suppresses the diffusion and flow of blood, etc., which is used for gastrointestinal endoscopy of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, and large intestine, and procedures and treatment in the digestive tract. It is injected into the digestive tract through an endoscope and improves the poor visual field caused by blood, etc., during endoscopy. (For more information, refer to the news release on September 11, 2020 "Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory launches VISCOCLEAR^®, gel to secure the visual field that is used for the endoscope for natural opening" https://www.otsukakj.jp/en/news_release/20200911.html)