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
Dompé Doses First Patient in Phase 3 Study of Cenegermin-bkbj in NAION14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve which causes spontaneous and rapid vision loss, for which there are currently no FDA-approved treatments. Given the substantial unmet need for effective treatments in NAION, in October 2025, Dompé was awarded a Commissioner’s National Priority Review Voucher (CNPV) by the US FDA to accelerate a potential Biologics License Application for intranasal nerve growth factor (NGF) in NAION. Dompé, a biopharmaceutical company with operations in Italy and the US, announced the first patient has been enrolled in a Phase 3 study of cenegermin-bkbj for the treatment of non-arteritic anterior ischemic neuropathy (NAION). Involving more than 130 centers globally, the Phase 3 trial, “Galassia-NAION-301” is a multicenter, double-blind study comparing cenegermin-bkbj against placebo in improving vision loss caused by NAION. “Our NGF R&D program continues to accelerate with our third clinical study of 202
CE-IVDR Mark for Hologic’s Aptima® HPV Test Expanded to Include Self-Collected Sample Claim in Cervical Cancer Screening14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
New indication in the European Union and the UK offers alternative method of screening especially for women who are not currently participating Hologic, Inc. announced today that its Aptima® HPV Assay received an expanded CE-IVDR marking in the European Union and the UK and is now approved for self-collected vaginal samples using the Aptima Multitest Specimen Collection Kit. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260714358586/en/ Hologic’s Aptima® HPV Assay and Aptima Multitest Specimen Collection Kit Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women but is largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular screening.1 Evidence shows that organized screening and early detection reduces deaths from cervical cancer, with mortality reduction rates in Europe ranging from 41% to 92%.2 However, even in countries with an established cervical screening program, screening participation rates vary widely, from 25%
Cover Genius Raises USD $100M Backed by Vista Credit Partners, Reaching USD $1.9 Billion Valuation as it Advances AI-First Platform and Global Expansion14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Accelerating the AI roadmap and next era of embedded protection Cover Genius, the global infrastructure for embedded protection, today announced a USD $100M capital raise, backed by Vista Credit Partners, a subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners and strategic financing partner focused on enterprise software. The raise values the business at USD $1.9 billion, advancing a new chapter for the company. Cover Genius operates a B2B2C embedded protection platform that connects 200+ partners with 50+ global insurance carriers to protect over 70 million end customers at the point of sale across travel, retail, ticketing and logistics. Unlike traditional insurers, Cover Genius dynamically adapts product design, pricing, and presentation in real time to match each merchant's unique customer journey and geography mix. “We’ve spent more than a decade building the trust layer the world’s largest digital companies rely on to protect their customers. Today’s raise is about broadening possibilities: movin
Esri to Debut the Power of Where Collection at 2026 Esri User Conference14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
New Titles Expand on Landmark Work to Showcase How GIS Drives Better Decisions Across Water and Land Management Esri will debut the Power of Where Collection at the 2026 Esri User Conference. The collection builds on the 2024 book The Power of Where by Jack Dangermond, extending its ideas into real-world GIS applications. New titles in the collection highlight GIS uses in water forecasting, land records, infrastructure planning, and economic development. The series demonstrates how spatial analysis helps organizations address challenges including sustainability, climate resilience, and governance. Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, will debut the Power of Where Collection at the 2026 Esri User Conference in July. The collection builds on the ideas introduced in The Power of Where: A Geographic Approach to the World's Greatest Challenges, by Esri president Jack Dangermond, published in 2024. The new collection expands these foundational concepts into focused, real-world a
Esri Introduces ArcGIS for ServiceNow, Bringing Location Intelligence into Everyday Enterprise Workflows14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
New Integration Connects Platforms, Enabling Real-Time Mapping Directly Within Existing Systems Esri is launching ArcGIS for ServiceNow, an integration that connects ServiceNow, the AI control tower for business reinvention, with ArcGIS, bringing location intelligence into everyday enterprise workflows. The solution supports organizations across commercial, government, health care, utilities, energy, telecom, and other sectors. Users can visualize incidents, assets, work orders, facilities, and other business data on maps in real time within ServiceNow or ArcGIS, improving decision-making and operational efficiency. The integration eliminates data duplication by enabling seamless data sharing between systems, bridging business records with geographic context. ArcGIS for ServiceNow will debut in beta shortly after Esri User Conference. Esri, the global leader in geographic information system (GIS) technology, has announced ArcGIS for ServiceNow, connecting the two platforms for the firs
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