New York, NY – November 19, 2014 – Nagase America is pleased to announce a partnership with Aspira Scientific for the distribution of Nagase’s portfolio of unnatural amino acids in North America.  Produced using proprietary technology, Nagase’s unnatural amino acids are unique chiral building blocks for small molecule and peptide synthesis and can help overcome challenges in designing next-generation drug candidates.  Aspira Scientific will hold a stock of these amino acids in North America for research and development purposes.

“Peptide drugs can suffer from poor in-vivo and oral bioavailability due to degradation by peptidases and acids,” said Bradley Hilborn, director of business development at Nagase America.  “Unnatural amino acids can stabilize peptides to resist degradation, as well as potentially provide other benefits, such as improved target affinity and cell permeability.  Several of our unnatural amino acids are reported to have medicinal properties either alone or as part of larger molecules.”

With a stock of Nagase’s unnatural amino acids in the United States, Aspira Scientific will be able to quickly and efficiently support the needs of research and development groups in North America.  Nagase and Aspira Scientific also expect synergies in terms of technical support for customers regarding next-generation drug development.

“We are excited to offer Nagase’s portfolio of unnatural amino acids to research and development organizations in North America,” said John Chan, CEO of Aspira Scientific.  “One of our core missions is to empower discoveries and breakthroughs in research and development through the availability of cutting-edge chemical tools.”

Nagase’s unnatural amino acids include not only D-isomer amino acids but a variety of alpha Methyl substituted L- and D-amino acids.  They are manufactured using Nagase’s proprietary Maruoka Catalyst® technology, an asymmetric phase transfer catalyst that exhibits high selectivity and reactivity, as well as contains no metals.  Nagase’s unnatural amino acids can be produced in large quantities necessary for active pharmaceutical ingredient production.  In addition to unnatural amino acids, Nagase’s pharmaceutical portfolio includes excipients, ingredients for APIs, and in-vitro diagnostic reagents.

For more information visit www.NagaseAmerica.com.

Contact: Michael Moses, 212-703-1343, michael.moses@nagase-nam.com

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About Nagase America:
Nagase America is a global leader in innovative solutions for the chemicals, plastics, electronics, life sciences and automotive markets. We are a member of the Nagase Group, founded in 1832 and now encompassing over 100 companies in 20 countries and 5,900 employees worldwide. For more information, visit www.NagaseAmerica.com or www.Nagase.co.jp/english/.

About Aspira Scientific:
Aspira Scientific empowers scientists to achieve their aspirations in chemical and biological research and development by reducing the costs of basic and applied research. The company leverages a global innovation ecosystem to offer a wide array of next-generation enabling research tools. For organizations with developmental programs and commercial intent, Aspira Scientific provides user-driven services via a “Collaborate Locally. Commercialize Globally.”™ model to afford exceptional value in terms of innovation, quality and IP assurance, and cost efficiency. For more information, please visit www.aspirasci.com.