Sumitomo Corporation Makes Strategic Investment In Piedmont Animal Health

TOKYO and GREENSBORO, N.C., Oct. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Life Science Division of Sumitomo Corporation and Piedmont Animal Health, a North Carolina-based pharmaceutical company that develops pioneering companion animal health products, jointly announce that Sumitomo has made a strategic equity investment in Piedmont. Alongside the equity investment, the two companies will expand their existing U.S.-Japan technology collaboration agreement to include Asia and other specific countries outside of Japan.

Technology development collaboration
"Sumitomo has been seeking to establish a development and marketing capability in the U.S. to better present Sumitomo as the global trading partner of choice for Japanese companies that specialize in animal health technology," says Kaz Ohno, general manager of the Animal Health Science Department at Sumitomo Corporation in Tokyo.  "Piedmont has an excellent track record in developing and achieving clearance for both FDA- and EPA-regulated products, and offers the opportunity for an experienced and efficient path to U.S. commercialization for our partner companies in Japan."

Roland Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Piedmont Animal Health, describes the expansion of the collaboration with Sumitomo as a natural progression of the business relationship established between Piedmont and Sumitomo over recent years.

"Japanese companies have long been innovators in discovering many of the most important anti-parasiticide molecules used around the world," notes Johnson.  "In our careers, our team members have had the fortunate opportunity to turn many of these molecules into top-selling medications such as heartworm disease preventatives for companion animals."  "We look forward to accessing future new molecules coming from Sumitomo's Japanese partner relationships."

Expanded horizon for Piedmont innovations
As part of the collaboration, Sumitomo will represent Piedmont's innovative product development pipeline in Asia. "Piedmont has several ground-breaking products in development that target key therapeutic areas in companion animal health," says Yasunori Ishibashi, team leader of the companion animal team for Sumitomo Animal Health Science Department "Japanese companies are very interested in accessing products from the U.S., but they need help from a global organization that understands their specific needs. Sumitomo is a trusted name in Japan, with a very long history in pharmaceuticals going back to our original founder over 400 years ago."

About Sumitomo
Sumitomo Corporation ("SC") is a leading Fortune 500 global trading and business investment company with 107 locations in 65 countries and 22 locations in Japan. The entire SC Group consists of more than 800 companies and nearly 70,000 personnel. SC conducts commodity transactions in all industries utilizing worldwide networks, provides related customers with various financing, serves as an organizer and a coordinator for various projects, and invests in companies to promote greater growth potential. SC's core business areas include Metal Products, Transportation and Construction Systems, Environment and Infrastructure, Media, Network, Lifestyle Related Goods and Services, Mineral Resources, Energy, and Chemical and Electronics.

About Piedmont Animal Health 
Piedmont Animal Health LLC is a Greensboro, N.C.-based companion animal pharmaceutical development and marketing company focused on inventing and developing innovative technologies to address veterinary healthcare needs.  Piedmont's founders have developed, launched, and/or marketed over 15 companion animal products for dogs, cats, and horses, including four innovative products developed and launched in the U.S. by Piedmont Animal Health in the last four years. The company is currently developing a broad range of convenient and long-acting medications, including ones focusing on the therapeutic areas of pain management and anti-infectives. 

SOURCE Sumitomo Corporation