Winner of the 1st STOP Infectious Disease Award

IMMUSE™ - Based Products Continue to Receive Recognition for Contributing to People’s Health and Resiliency

Kyowa Hakko’s parent firm, Kirin Holding’s received the 1st STOP Infectious Disease Award at the 2021 Japanese Resilience Awards held by the Association for Resilience Japan. The company received the award for its discovery of Lactococcus lactis strain Plasma (LC-Plasma) and achievement of “foods with functional claim” registration with the Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency.

The award also recognizes Kirin’s advanced efforts and contribution to national policies improving the health of Japan’s population.

Helping Japanese Stay Healthy

As part of the Kirin Group Vision 2027 – a long-term management plan that aims to create value in areas ranging from food to medicine – the company has developed a Health Science initiative to help people stay fit and healthy, which includes the rolling out immune health products containing LC-Plasma with “foods with functional claims for immune-system support” labeling.

In 2021, Kirin expanded the company’s range of products containing LC-Plasma to 22, including functional beverages, yogurts and chewables, making immune system maintenance even more accessible to the ordinary Japanese consumer.

About the Association for Resilience Japan

The Association for Resilience Japan was established in 2014 to promote and implement the Japanese government’s Fundamental Plan for National Resilience based on the Basic Act for National Resilience Contributing to Preventing and Mitigating Disasters for Developing Resilience in the Lives of the Citizenry enacted the previous year.

Building a Resilient Nation

The Japanese Government’s Basic Act for National Resilience aims to build a nation that “has the toughness and flexibility to survive large-scale natural disasters in the future,” emphasizing the importance of public and private partnerships, as well as companies’ cooperation.

The Association’s purpose is to “build national resilience” through the collective efforts of industry, academia, government and the private sector, as well as further the public’s understanding of national resilience, encouraging the people of Japan to take action.

The 1st STOP Infectious Disease Award

Held since 2015, the Japanese Resilience Awards recognize and honor companies and organizations that are engaged in activities, technology developments and product developments that contribute to the creation of a strong and resilient nation, region, people and industry.

The STOP Infectious Disease Award was established in 2021to recognize “advanced initiatives that contribute to infectious disease control.” Now in its eighth year, the Japanese Resilience Awards 2022, has four categories: Corporate/Industry, Local Government, Educational Institution, NPO/Civic Activity and the Regional Plan for National Land Resilience, which was added in 2017.

LC-Plasma is Kirin Holding’s proprietary strain of lactic acid bacteria clinically shown to activate immune function at the cellular level. Branded IMMUSE™ in some markets, LC-Plasma is the latest breakthrough in the immune health supplement category and is distributed worldwide by the global offices of Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., LTD.

Learn More About IMMUSE™ (LC-Plasma)