placed on the market in 1950. In subsequent years, it wasconfi rmed clinically that this medicine was effective forvarious types of diseases. Also its safety was ensured making
it a very durable medicine.
In 1953, when the production of chondroitin sulfate
medicine got on a smooth track, his company was renamed
as K.K. Seikagaku Kenkyusyo (Biochemical ResearchInstitute Corporation). From the start, Mizutani had an ideal“to contribute to the welfare of mankind by extensively
supplying safe and useful pharmaceuticals to the world.” In
the process of building up his business, he fully recognized
the importance of basic research and technology because of
his effort to manufacture products, verify effectiveness of themedicine and ensure the safety of the products. The changeof his company’s name to the one somewhat sounding likean academic institution might have been the expression of
his commitment of giving high prominence to science inhis pursuit of his ideal. In 1962 when the corporate basewas solidified, the company name was changed again to thepresent “Seikagaku Corporation.”

A Biography
Masakane Mizutani

Founder of the Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscienceproblems, including the need to procure fund to start a
new business. Fortunately, he had several friends who hadprominent expertise in the areas of basic science, medicine
and corporate management. They advised and assisted
Mizutani who embraced an enthusiastic hope of starting a
new enterprise. On many occasions in later years, Mizutani
recalled how useful their cooperation had been.

Following chondroitin sulfate medicine, Mizutani
succeeded in commercializing bulk drug such as dextran
sulfate, lysozyme, and kallikrein, and various types ofbiochemical reagents for complex carbohydrate research aswell as those for detection of endotoxin. The financial andtechnological base supporting development of these corporate
activities was chondroitin sulfate medicines. However,
although total sales saw a smooth growth, the company’s recurring profit had kept falling since 1970, and it faced
the need to plan and develop new products. Around thattime, a suggestion was made by Dr. Shuzo Iwata, througha member of the Complex Carbohydrate Study Group, forcommercialization of hyaluronic acid. Research on thispolysaccharide had been advanced by Dr. Endre Balazs, thenprofessor of Columbia University, and it had been proved
through animal experiments that it was effective for treatmentof arthritis.

In 1948, Mizutani had an encounter with Mr. Toshitane
Takada of Kosei Fishery Co. Ltd. and jointly sought thepossibility of commercializing chondroitin sulfate, inKurihama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Mizutani himself engaged
in the work to extract and refine this polysaccharide fromwhale and shark cartilage. This provided him with valuable
experience of product manufacturing. The early-stage
product took the form of an oral pharmaceutical product, andsubsequently he succeeded in higher-level refinement, thus
paving the way to manufacturing injection pharmaceuticals.
In this way the first medicine using chondroitin sulfate was

Mizutani had a strong interest in developing medicines
using hyaluronic acid and set a target to make it a drug
product, not a bulk drug as in the case of chondroitin sulfate.
However, hyaluronic acid is a high molecular polysaccharide
with very high viscosity, and there were difficult problems
to turn it into a highly purified medicine that can be used
for living bodies. In solving these problems, the know-how
accumulated in the process of manufacturing chondroitin
sulfate, which is a similarly highly viscous polysaccharide,
was very instrumental. In other words, the technologicalbase he had built up since the foundation of his venture

April 19, 1910 - August 29, 2009M

asakane Mizutani was born in Shinjuku, Tokyo, in
1910, and graduated from the Economic Departmentof the Tohoku Imperial University in 1934. He joined
Kawasaki Machine Manufacturing Division of Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries Ltd. The World War II ended 10 years after
he joined the company. In the postwar years of turmoil anddevastation, he was convinced that the promotion of scienceand technology was indispensable for the restoration andrebuilding of Japan. Around that time, he was advised by his
brother-in-law, the late Dr. Fujio Egami (former professor ofTokyo University, former Chairman of Science Council ofJapan, and a recipient of the prize of the Japan Academy), tocommercialize pharmaceutical products using chondroitin
sulfate. Dr. Egami had been engaged in biochemical
studies of this polysaccharide for many years and had aconviction that this substance would provide safe and usefulpharmaceutical effects on human body. Although Mizutani
had been deeply interested in this advice, it was outside thesphere of his specialized field. He also had several other

While striving to stabilize the corporate base,Mizutani launched the activities to assist promotion ofscience on complex carbohydrate based on his convictionthat cooperation between the industry and academia isvital. In 1957, he assisted in organizing the Study Groupon Mucopolysaccharide in 1957, contributing to theestablishment of the Japanese Society for Connective Tissue
Research as it is today. At the time of the InternationalCongress on Biochemstry held in Japan in 1967 and theInternational Meeting on Glycoconjugates in 1981, hecontributed to international interchanges among researchers
on complex carbohydrates by taking the initiative to organize
a satellite international meeting on respective occasions,
namely “Korinkaku Symposium” and Proteoglycan Meeting.

worked very effectively. In this way, in 1987, he succeededin marketing “Artz,” the world’s first medicine for treatmentof osteoarthritis using sodium hyaluronate.
Thanks to explosive sale of Artz, the recurring profitof Seikagaku Corporation increased ten times, contributing
signifi cantly to stabilization of its business base. Hemade public placement of his company’s stock on theover-the-counter (OTC) stock market, thus enhancing
corporate credibility and further ensuring stable management.
In the meantime, in October 1992, he established theMizutani Foundation for Glycoscience by contributing
1.2 billion yen of his private fund and 200,000 shares ofSeikagaku Corporation in order to materialize his longtime
ideal of “promotion of glycoscience and contribution to thewelfare of mankind.” His commitment to make international
contribution was explicitly enunciated in the Prospectus
for the Establishment of the Foundation, together with theobjectives of supporting promotion of glycoscience. Hehimself visited the relevant government offices to explain
about the intent of the Foundation, and obtained permission
for its establishment. The Foundation is a rare case of apublic interest organization to extend subsidies on a globallevel.
Mizutani played an active role in Japan’s business
community. The major posts he has served include Vice
Chairman of the Kanagawa Pharmaceutical Association,Councilor of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Associations of Japan (FPMAJ), Board Member of theJapan Bulk Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association,Permanent Board Member of the Federation of Employers
Associations of Japan, and Permanent Board Member ofthe Kanto Employers Association. In the commendationby the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII) in1994, he received the Award of the Kanto Trade and Industry
Director in the awarding for outstanding inventions in theKanto Region. In 1996, he was honored with the Award of
the Science and Technology Agency Director-General for hisachievement in development of polysaccharide medicines
based on hyaluronic acid.
As the sale of hyaluronic acid medicines went on asmooth track, Mizutani stepped aside to chairmanship ofSeikagaku Corporation in June 1989, and in 1998 he retired
from public activities, resigning from both the Board of thecompany and the presidency of the Mizutani Foundation forGlycoscience.
Over 40 years from the foundation of his company tosolidifying its base were a period of continuous devotion as
an entrepreneur. About his wife Asako who supported hisefforts throughout those years, he once wrote in a company
bulletin:“I thank my wife so much because she never uttereda word of complaint and did her job perfectly to raise ourchildren in a free spirit and have them choose their directionof life they wanted. Without the support of my wife, I musthave been frustrated in my work in the middle way.”
He loved classic music and used to sing when he wasyoung. His enjoyment was to hold a family concert withhis wife, who plays the piano, and his two daughters both ofwhom studied in music colleges, one specializing in violin
and the other in flute. Two of his sons became researchers
after graduating from science universities. The youngest son
succeeded him as President of Seikagaku Corporation andalso of the Mizutani Foundation.