Innovation Topics

Kuraray leads the world in water-soluble resin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). We have continued research focusing on the safety and biocompatibility of this material. The spherical PVA gel-based microcarrier, SCAPOVA™, born from our unique polymer design technology, boasts high cell culture efficiency, less fragments during stirred cell culture, and excellent cell detachment properties, making recovery easy. SCAPOVA™ enables three-dimensional cell culture using culture tanks, transitioning from traditional planar culture, and significantly reduces cell culture costs through space-saving and short-time cultivation. SCAPOVA™ is already prepared for sample production, with domestic sales in Japan starting in March 2024, and plans for world-wide sales, including the United States, from 2025 onwards.

The Kuraray Group aims to create a future in which Kuraray’s functional products flourish in various settings that interface with biomedicine. We see SCAPOVA™ as a technological bridgehead toward the creation of a new cell culture solution business.