April 2024
Press Release No. 2024-02
Company Information【First Japanese company to receive this award!】
Inspired by a NASA technology, Sangi’s development ofremineralizing toothpaste is inducted into theSpace Technology Hall of Fame®
— Award Ceremony held at the Space Symposium in the U.S. —Sangi Co.,Ltd. has been inducted into the U.S. Space Technology Hall of Fame for its
development of remineralizing toothpaste containing Medical Hydroxyapatite, an ingredientthat prevents tooth decay, inspired by a NASA technology. Sangi is the first Japanesecompany to receive this award, which recognizes outstanding developments in the applicationof space technology. Sangi’s product portfolio includes APAGARD®, the No. 1 selling* brand ofhigh-performance whiteness enhancing toothpaste in Japan, and APADENT®, a long-selling
medicated toothpaste that has been on the market for more than 40 years.
The 2024 award ceremony was held during the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs,
USA, from April 8 to 11, and was attended by Sangi's president and chairman andrepresentatives from its development partner and contract manufacturer, Nippon Zettoc Co.
Ltd.

From left to right: Roslyn Hayman (President of Sangi), Shuji Sakuma (Founder and Chairman ofSangi), Tomoki Saito (Technical Advisor, Sangi), Nobuo Wakui (Group Manager, Nippon Zettoc),Yoshinobu Hasegawa (Group Manager, Nippon Zettoc)

The Space Technology Hall of Fame was established in 1988 by the Space Foundation, anon-profit organization founded in the United States in 1983, to recognize outstanding
developments in space technology. It is given annually to companies selected from among many
nominations, and is widely known as an award that honors product developers, scientists andengineers for their world-class technologies. Sangi’s toothpaste was nominated for induction by
the staff of NASA's online journal Spinoff.
* Intage SRI 2023 High-Performance Whitening Toothpaste Market Sales Value Top Series APAGARD

April 2024
Press Release No. 2024-02
Company Information

Established as a trading company in 1974, Sangi became aware of NASA's technology whilebuying and selling patents. The technology was originally developed in the late 1960s at NASA'sElectronics Research Center with a view to protecting astronauts from mineral loss in a gravityfree environment by producing hydroxyapatite, the main component of teeth and bones, via achemical reaction in the mouth from its precursor brushite. Sangi’s founder and current chairman
Shuji Sakuma took a hint from the NASA technology and proposed putting hydroxyapatite itself
into toothpaste, from which it could be taken up into the tooth surface during daily tooth brushing.
Thus, in 1980 the world's first hydroxyapatite-containing toothpaste APADENT was born.
Space Symposium Space Technology Hall of Fame Award Ceremony
Sangi’s president Roslyn Hayman spoke at
the Space Technology Hall of Fame award
ceremony held during the Space Symposium(April 3-11, 2024) in Colorado, USA.
Expressing Sangi’s joy at receiving the award,
she explained how the company came todevelop a toothpaste containinghydroxyapatite, how it became a medicinal
ingredient, and how the company isdeveloping its business today.
Space Foundation CEO Heather Pringle
honored the technology’s benefits in her
congratulatory comment. “We are proud that
Roslyn Hayman, Sangi president, making her acceptanceremineralizing toothpaste has helped so manyspeech.
people on Earth. It’s a great pleasure to beable to apply space technology for the benefit of all mankind. Congratulations indeed!”
What is the Space Symposium?
The Space Symposium has been hosted by the Space Foundation since 1984 and is the leading
gathering of the global space ecosystem. Held in Colorado Springs, USA, this live event is widelyattended by business and government leaders, and other professionals, entrepreneurs andeducators from around the world.
Link to official homepage: https://www.spacesymposium.org/
What is the Space Foundation?
The Space Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1983 to provide information,education, and collaboration to the global space ecosystem. Its board members include CEOsof space-related companies and leaders from the U.S. military and various government
agencies. Members can be found at: https://www.spacefoundation.org/who-weare/leadership/. Driven by partnerships, the Space Foundation unites all stakeholders business, government, education, and community - through support from corporate members,sponsors, fundraising activities, and grants.
Link to official homepage: https://www.spacefoundation.org/

April 2024
Press Release No. 2024-02
Company Information

NASA Spinoff
Since 1976, NASA’s now online journal Spinoff has been collecting and introducing
outstanding products and services that have been created based on technologies and patents
researched and developed by NASA. Currently, the number of registered patents exceeds
2,000. An article on Sangi’s Medical Hydroxyapatite toothpaste was published in the journal onJanuary 2024.
NASA Spinoff official website: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff
NASA Spinoff article on Sangi:
https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Semiconductor_Research_Leads_to_a_Revolution_in_Dental_Care
Medical Hydroxyapatite, an anti-caries ingredient developed by Sangi
Medical Hydroxyapatite is a proprietary ingredient developed by Sangi using hydroxyapatite,
the main component of teeth and bones, on a nanoparticle scale. It is recognized as an anticaries agent in Japan and used only in Sangi's own-brand products, such as APAGARD, andOEM products. Medical Hydroxyapatite is distinct from other types of hydroxyapatite such asfillers or abrasives, and works directly on tooth enamel to protect against caries in three ways
– collecting and removing plaque, filling surface microfissures, and remineralizing subsurface
demineralized areas, which are the beginning of tooth decay.
Detailed explanation: https://www.sangi-co.com/en/mechanism/index.html
History of Sangi‘s Development of Medical Hydroxyapatite
1974

First encounter with hydroxyapatite
Established as a trading company, Sangi becomes aware of the technology of theU.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) while trading in patents.

The original NASA technology
In the late 1960s, amid concern for the strength of astronauts' teeth and bones in a weightlessenvironment, NASA's Electronics Research Center, led by Dr. Bernard Rubin, conceived amethod of producing hydroxyapatite, the main component of teeth and bones, by a chemical
reaction in the mouth from its precursor, brushite. NASA patented Rubin's idea in 1972, andSangi purchased the intellectual property rights three years later in 1975.
1975

Sangi acquires the NASA patent.

1978

Taking a hint from NASA's technology, Sangi proposes directly using hydroxyapatite,which is the main component of teeth, as an ingredient in toothpaste, from which it
can be taken up into and restore the tooth surface during daily tooth brushing.

The cycle of tooth demineralization and remineralization
In the mouth, the mineral components of tooth enamel are being constantly dissolved byacids from bacteria and foods, a phenomenon called "demineralization.” Saliva constantly
replaces this mineral, but if the amount of saliva secretion becomes inadequate, due to poor
health, or if the oral cavity becomes acidic due to excessive consumption of acidic foods orneglect of dental care, demineralization is prolonged, and remineralization by the saliva
cannot keep up, making the teeth more susceptible to decay.

April 2024
Press Release No. 2024-02
Company Information1980

Launch of the first hydroxyapatite remineralizing toothpaste APADENT.
After encountering the NASA technology and conceiving the world's first "restorativetoothpaste," Sangi begins synthesizing and researching hydroxyapatite and with thecooperation of manufacturer Nippon Zettoc (then Nippon Zeola Co. Ltd.), formulates
it into toothpaste. APADENT is first sold for 2,800 yen per tube, an exceptionally highprice for toothpaste at the time.

1985

Sangi establishes a subsidiary, Apatite Co., Ltd., and its second brand toothpaste
APAGARD is launched

1989

Launch of Sangi’s hydroxyapatite-based antimicrobial agent APACIDER

1992

Launch of the DENTA APATO brand toothpaste for co-op route sales.

1993

Birth of a new anti-caries agent, Medical Hydroxyapatite
Fully 15 years since its inception, Sangi's proprietary hydroxyapatite ingredient isfinally recognized by Japan’s then Ministry of Health and Welfare as a medicinal
ingredient with caries-preventive effects, based on more than a decade of research
including data from laboratory work and large-scale field trials carried out by two
universities in Japanese primary schools. The ingredient is officially named Medical
Hydroxyapatite to distinguish it from other types of hydroxyapatite, and its 3-stepmechanism for the prevention of caries is officially recognized.

2003

Sangi succeeds in reducing the size of its hydroxyapatite ingredient from three-digit
nanoscale (over 100nm) to two-digit (around 50nm), improving its penetration into theenamel surface and making it the world's first nanotech oral care ingredient.

Sangi Co., Ltd.
Established in 1974, Sangi is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. After developing theworld's first toothpaste containing hydroxyapatite in the late 1970s, launched as APADENT in
1980 and APAGARD in 1985, the company caused a sensation in the mid-1990s with a highly
successful TV commercial series "A Celebrity’s Teeth are His Life," at one point capturing
almost 20% Japanese toothpaste market share. Sangi began exporting in 2011, and now
supplies its products to almost 30 overseas countries including Russia, Canada, China andother parts of Asia, and in the EU, where it established a subsidiary in 2017. It also launched arange of skin care products containing hydroxyapatite, under the HAP+R brand in 2018. Sangi
derives its name from the three (“san”) principles (“gi”) of the Chinese scholar Mencius, whichtranslate as “The timing of the heavens, the riches of the earth, and the harmony of men.”
Sangi homepage: https://www.sangi-co.com