Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has received the 54th annual Ichimura Prize in Industry for Excellent Achievement developing and commercializing an anti-thrombogenic artificial kidney. This coveted award is from the Ichimura Foundation for New Technology.

Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 2022 – Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has received the 54th annual Ichimura Prize in Industry for Excellent Achievement developing and commercializing an anti-thrombogenic artificial kidney. This coveted award is from the Ichimura Foundation for New Technology.

Toray drew on its core nanotechnology and computational chemistry capabilities to create this artificial kidney, a polysulfone membrane, in response to a growing need to enhance anti-thrombogenic performance in line with dialysis treatment advances. Its technology helps improve the quality of life of patients with chronic and acute renal failure while reducing the workloads of medical professionals.

Toray looks to develop high value-added medical supplies that materialize its corporate philosophy of contributing to social progress by delivering new value while attaining sustainable growth.

 

Key technology features

Artificial kidneys remove waste products from the blood of renal patients. These dialyzers incorporate mainstream polysulfone material blended with hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone to provide anti-thrombogenic performance. This is good but could be better. Toray applied a proprietary hypothesis focusing on how adsorbed water interacts with polymers, using computational chemistry in the polymer design process. The company thereby found that a new anti-thrombogenic polymer can better suppress platelet adhesion than polyvinylpyrrolidone, enabling it to develop and commercialize artificial kidneys for chronic and acute renal failure.

Applications

Toray has employed its award-winning technology in offerings that have earned accolades for its contributions to quality of life and clinical efficiency in enhancing anti- thrombogenic performance. One is Toraylight™ NV hemodialyzer. Others are Toraylight™ HDF and Toraysulfone® NV hemodialysis filters and HEMOFEEL™ SNV, which provides continuous and gentle hemofiltration.

About Ichimura Foundation for New Technology, Ichimura Prize, and Ichimura Prize in Industry

That foundation contributes to Japan’s economic and social development and helps improve lives. It does this by providing grants for science and technology R&D, honoring outstanding achievements in those fields, encouraging international exchange, fostering science and technology creativity, and supporting research related to horticulture.

The Ichimura Prize was created to commemorate Kiyoshi Ichimura, a leading Japanese industrialist, receiving the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon on April 29, 1963. The Japanese government awards that medal for exceptionally generous financial contributions for the public good. Based on recommendations from various sectors, the annual Ichimura Prize goes to technology developers or groups that have contributed to progress in industrial fields by developing outstanding Japanese technology.

Toray’s previous Ichimura Prize wins

8th in fiscal 1975
Ichimura Incentive Award for developing Chinese-character information processing system

50th in fiscal 2017
Ichimura Prize in Industry for Excellent Achievement for developing high-performance reverse osmosis membranes

51st in fiscal 2018
The Ichimura Prize in Industry for Distinguished Achievement for developing photosensitive electro-conductive paste for touch panels

Contact


Toray Industries, Inc. Head Office - Corporate Communications Dept.
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