XDemics and Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd. Enter Strategic Distribution Agreement for Japan

Agreement expands access to Expansify™ high-density cell culture technology through Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.’s established commercial and technical network.

SAN RAFAEL, CA, UNITED STATES, September 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- XDemics Corporation, a California biotechnology company that has developed a next-generation, high-density cell culture platform, and Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd. today announced a strategic distribution agreement for Japan.

Under the agreement, Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd. will market and distribute XDemics’ Expansify™ high-density cultureware to biotechnology companies, cell and gene therapy developers, CDMOs, academic institutions, and research organizations throughout Japan. The companies have begun commercial onboarding and expect customer outreach in Japan to begin in October 2026.

The agreement builds on a multi-year relationship between the companies. It combines XDemics’ natural, high-density cell respiration™ (HDCR™) cell culture technology with Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.’s longstanding experience as a manufacturer of cell culture and regenerative medicine, deep presence in Japan’s biotechnology and academic markets, and technical sales capabilities in cell and gene therapy and biologics.

“Japan is an important center for regenerative medicine, cell therapy, and advanced biomanufacturing, making Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd. an ideal partner for expanding access to our technology,” said Christopher Thanos, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of XDemics. “Their scientific expertise, customer relationships, and reputation for quality will help Japanese researchers and developers evaluate and adopt Expansify™ across a broad range of cell culture workflows. This agreement is an important step in XDemics’ international commercial expansion.”

Expansify™ is powered by XDemics’ High-Density Cell Respiration™ (HDCR™) platform, which is designed to address two fundamental constraints in conventional cell culture: limited oxygen delivery and stressful culture conditions. Its gas-permeable architecture delivers oxygen directly to the cellular microenvironment without agitation or sparging, supporting shear-free cell growth and direct control of pericellular oxygen.

Depending on the cell type and workflow, the platform can enable significantly improved cell densities over conventional cultureware while maintaining or improving cellular activity and quality. Expansify™’s repeating geometry also creates an equivalent cellular microenvironment across formats, supporting predictable, linear scale-up and scale-down.

The cultureware uses a standardized ANSI/SLAS footprint and is compatible with liquid-handling systems, making it suitable for automated workflows. These characteristics may allow laboratories and production teams to generate more cells using less space and handling while reducing process-development and scale-up risk.

"Japan's cell culture market is reaching a critical inflection point, driven by the practical application of regenerative medicine and cell and gene therapies. Expansify™, built on XDemics' uniquely valuable high oxygen-permeability technology, is a next-generation product that addresses customer demand for efficient, high-volume culture with assured quality. We are very pleased to bring this innovative technology to the Japanese market, and we look forward to working closely with XDemics to support researchers and developers as we contribute to the further advancement of regenerative medicine and related fields in Japan," said Hayao Tanaka, General Manager, S-BIO Business Division, Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.

The collaboration will initially focus on establishing commercial access, technical support, and customer adoption in Japan, including applications in stem cell research, cell and gene therapy, biologics development, automated cell production and industrial-scale cell manufacturing. The parties also intend to explore opportunities for deeper technical collaboration, leveraging Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd's manufacturing expertise alongside XDemics' HDCR™ platform.

About XDemics Corporation

XDemics Corporation is developing the High-Density Cell Respiration™ platform to overcome the oxygen-delivery and shear-stress limitations of conventional cell culture systems. The platform enables direct control of pericellular oxygen and can achieve cell densities up to 100 times higher than conventional cultureware, with improved functional activity and quality.

XDemics’ Expansify™ respiring cultureware and Profusion™ bioreactor products, currently under development, use the HDCR platform to support workflows spanning early discovery through commercial production. XDemics holds an exclusive license to a broad intellectual-property portfolio from the California Institute of Technology and City of Hope, complemented by intellectual property developed in-house. The company is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

Expansify™ cultureware is currently for research use only.

For more information, visit www.xdemics.com.

About Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.

Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd. is a Tokyo-headquartered materials company established in 1932. Its S-BIO Business Division develops, manufactures, and supplies products for cell culture, three-dimensional culture, glycan analysis, microphysiological systems, and other biotechnology research applications. The division has an established track record supplying cell culture materials to cell processing centers (CPCs), CDMOs, and research institutions across Japan, including contributions to the manufacturing of the world's first iPS cell-based regenerative medicine products. Through its technical expertise, product portfolio, and established customer relationships, the company serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, academic, and medical research organizations in Japan and internationally.

For more information, visit www.sumibe.co.jp/english.

Media Contacts

Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.
Corporate Communication Dept., Corporate General Affairs Div.

Mike Hyatt
XDemics Corporation
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