Rigaku and SPERA PHARMA Initiate Strategic Partnership to Advanced Pharmaceutical Development
17.4.2025 17:00:00 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Rigaku Corporation, a Group company of Rigaku Holdings Corporation (headquarters: Akishima, Tokyo; CEO: Jun Kawakami; hereinafter “Rigaku”), and SPERA PHARMA, Inc. (headquarters: Osaka; President & Representative Director: Keitaro Iwaki; hereinafter “SPERA PHARMA”) have initiated a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating and transforming pharmaceutical development by leveraging the two companies’ cutting-edge technologies and extensive expertise.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250417047994/en/
Left: Keitaro Iwaki, President & Representative Director, SPERA PHARMA; Right: Jun Kawakami, President & CEO, Rigaku
SPERA PHARMA will use XtaLAB Synergy-ED, an integrated platform for electronic diffraction provided by Rigaku, for contract analytical services, thereby offering customers robust support in pharmaceutical development.
The XtaLAB Synergy-ED incorporates 3D ED/MicroED1, which is utilized for the structure analysis of substances, including microscopic crystals and minute quantities of crystalline powder. This sophisticated technology provides sufficiently high resolution to determine atomic-level structures, enabling the detailed elucidation of molecular structures of organic compounds and similar substances.
SPERA PHARMA is currently the world’s only company in the pharmaceutical industry offering contract analytical services with the XtaLAB Synergy-ED. Rigaku will extend technical support to SPERA PHARMA for its contract analytical operations.
Furthermore, the two companies are collaborating closely to advance research utilizing the XtaLAB Synergy-ED and to actively share information on the application methods and analytical technologies.
Through this partnership, Rigaku and SPERA PHARMA aim to provide robust support at the forefront of pharmaceutical development, playing pivotal roles in pioneering the future of medicine.
1: Stands for “Three-Dimensional Electron Diffraction/Microcrystal Electron Diffraction.” A method for analysis of crystalline structures using electronic diffraction.
Example of Joint Research and Use
“Detection of Hydrogen Atoms Using Only 3D ED/MicroED and Contribution to Structure Determining Salts or Cocrystals,” Crystal Growth ＆ Design, 2025, 25, 1, 129–135
URL: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01421
(Registration required to read.)
About the Rigaku Group
Since its establishment in 1951, the engineering professionals of the Rigaku group have been dedicated to benefiting society with leading-edge technologies, notably including its core fields of X-ray and thermal analysis. With a market presence in over 90 countries and some 2,000 employees from 9 global operations, Rigaku is a solution partner in industry and research analysis institutes. Our overseas sales ratio has reached approximately 70% while sustaining an exceptionally high market share in Japan. Together with our customers, we continue to develop and grow. As applications expand from semiconductors, electronic materials, batteries, environment, resources, energy, life science to other high-tech fields, Rigaku realizes innovations “To Improve Our World by Powering New Perspectives.”
For details, please visit rigaku-holdings.com/english
About SPERA PHARMA
SPERA PHARMA was established in July 2017 in the Juso area of Yodogawa-ku, Osaka. It is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) pharmaceutical sciences, including process chemistry, formulation development, and analytical development, as well as the manufacturing of investigational drugs. The company’s expert research team, which has extensive experience and proven results, works flexibly in all phases of pharmaceutical development from the early stage to final drug application. SPERA PHARMA is a one-stop provider of comprehensive services and solutions to meet customer needs. For further information, please visit spera-pharma.co.jp/en
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250417047994/en/
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Kubota Vision Inc. Signs Supply and Licensing Agreement with Laboratoires KÔL for Stargardt Disease Treatment Candidate Under Compassionate Use4.5.2026 17:16:00 CEST | Press release
Kubota Vision Inc. (“Kubota Vision”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan) announced signing of a Supply and Licensing Agreement with Laboratoires KÔL (Clermont-Ferrand, France) for the provision of a Stargardt disease (STGD1) treatment candidate under compassionate use authorization. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260414590785/en/ The purpose of this Agreement is for Kubota Vision and KÔL to collaborate on providing “Emixustat” for treatment of Stargardt Disease (STGD1) through compassionate use authorization in France. Kubota Vision will exclusively manufacture and supply Emixustat final products to KÔL and KÔL will have exclusive rights to distribute Emixustat in France under compassionate use access. Ryo Kubota, Chairman, President, and CEO of Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings, stated, “We are extremely pleased to enter into this Agreement with Labor
Incentive Market Set to Surpass $80B by 2030s — IMA Launches Tools to Help the Industry Keep Pace4.5.2026 16:28:00 CEST | Press release
With combined business spend on loyalty, employee recognition, and channel incentives projected to exceed $80 billion by the 2030s, the incentive industry is entering a period of rapid scale and strategic pressure. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260422729016/en/ In response, the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) launched a new suite of resources designed to help incentive professionals navigate an environment that’s becoming more specialized, fragmented, and central to business performance. “It’s not just more money coming in—it’s more complexity,” said Vince Chiofolo, President of the Incentive & Engagement Solution Providers (IESP). “Buyers are demanding programs that evolve fast, integrate deeply, and feel personal at scale. These new tools were built for that.” IMA’s Suite of Tools Includes: New Industry Report — Inside the Incentive Buyer’s Mind Drawn from insights of 50+ program owners, the report f
Tigo Energy Breaks Global Growth Benchmark; Boosts U.S. Energy Feature in Predict+4.5.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Advanced energy prediction platform adds real-time energy pricing for North American Independent System Operator (ISO) customers, accelerates meters-connected growth. Tigo Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYGO) (“Tigo” or “Company”), a leading provider of intelligent solar and energy solutions, today announced that the Predict+ platform now offers integrated real-time spot market pricing for ISO customers in the United States. Predict+ provides utilities with deep insights into grid demand, renewable generation, and energy market dynamics, enhancing the precision, scalability, and robustness of energy forecasting to up to 97.5% accuracy through machine learning and artificial intelligence. For energy providers, Predict+ helps streamline operations, reduce volatility, and maximize performance. Predict+ empowers utility operators to adapt to real-world demand challenges when balancing renewable and baseload generation sources, particularly during extreme weather events and market disruptions. On th
Airship Announces 2026 Elevate Customer Experience Award Winners4.5.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Southwest Airlines, The Economist, and OneFootball among brands recognized at Elevate’26 Customer Experience Summit for setting the standard in mobile-first and AI-centered customer experiences Airship, the mobile-first customer experience company, today announced the winners of the 2026 Elevate Customer Experience Awards. Global brand leaders from The Economist, Southwest Airlines, and OneFootball were among those honored at the Elevate’26 Customer Experience Summit. The Elevate Awards spotlight global companies that have developed exceptional mobile-first customer experiences for their customers, created innovative campaigns, leveraged AI agents to reach new levels of productivity, and achieved real business results. "Evolving mobile-first consumer behaviors and unprecedented advancements in AI are driving a seismic shift that is reshaping how brands interact with their customers," said Brett Caine, CEO, Airship. "The 2026 Elevate Award winners aren’t just adapting, they’re leading t
Alnylam to Present New Analyses at Heart Failure 2026 Underscoring Consistent Clinical Profile of Vutrisiran in ATTR-CM4.5.2026 14:30:00 CEST | Press release
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), the leading RNAi therapeutics company, today announced it will present new data analyses for vutrisiran in patients with the cardiomyopathy of wild-type or hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR-CM) at Heart Failure 2026, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology, taking place May 9-12, 2026, in Barcelona, Spain. ATTR-CM is a heterogeneous and rapidly progressive disease, and patients often present with complex clinical profiles. At Heart Failure 2026, Alnylam will present multiple new analyses from the Phase 3 HELIOS-B study of vutrisiran, which continue to support its use as a first-line treatment for patients with ATTR-CM, and further characterize its clinical profile across patients with a high disease burden, and in the context of concomitant therapies. Vutrisiran is the first and only transthyretin (TTR) silencer for ATTR-CM that delivers rapid knockdown of TTR at the source. Additional analyses being pr
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom