［Health Science domain］
The KIRIN HEALTH INNOVATION FUND Invests In Meta Flow, Operator Of Lumen, A Respirometer And Application That Helps Improve Metabolic State
- Research and Technology
August 10, 2023
Kirin Holdings Company, Limited
TOKYO, August 10, 2023 – The KIRIN HEALTH INNOVATION FUND, a corporate venture capital (CVC)*1 fund founded by Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin Holdings) and Global Brain Corporation, (Global Brain) a leading independent venture capital firm, has invested in Meta Flow, Ltd. (Meta Flow) in July.
1 The practice of an operating company investing its corporate funds directly in an external startup company aligned with its business lines, intended to establish a mutually beneficial relationship or launch a new business by leveraging the latter’s assets.
Meta Flow is a start-up company whose main business domain is the anti-obesity market, which is a major health issue in many countries around the world. The company operates Lumen, a service that improves users' metabolic state through a dedicated respirometer and an application. The improvement of health through obesity countermeasures is an important theme for Kirin Holdings as well, and we will closely monitor the market response through our collaboration with Meta Flow and explore the possibility of future collaboration.
About Meta Flow
Meta Flow is a startup company that operates Lumen, a service using a palm-sized device that measures the user's metabolic state through breathing. Using a dedicated respirometer and an app, users can monitor their metabolic state and understand how their daily diet and lifestyle habits are affecting their bodies. In addition, users can obtain a variety of information to improve their metabolic state. Clinical trial results*2 have shown that various health indicators such as HbA1c levels*3, fasting blood glucose levels, body weight, and body fat improved as a result of the use of Lumen for a certain period of time by a group of study subjects.
Lumen has grown into a major platform for measuring metabolic status, primarily in the United States Meta Flow plans to enhance the development of the respirometer and app to help more users improve their diet and lifestyle habits.
2 Assaf Buch et al, Obes Facts (2023) 16 (1): 53–61.
3 One of the glycosylated hemoglobins, which are glycosylated proteins in which glucose is bound to hemoglobin in a nonenzymatic manner. It is an important indicator in assessing the control status of diabetes mellitus over the previous month or two.
Purpose of Establishing the KIRIN HEALTH INNOVATION FUND
Through the KIRIN HEALTH INNOVATION FUND, Kirin Holdings intends to invest in startups around the globe that have innovative technologies and business models for resolving health issues, and to leverage their advanced health science technologies and solutions for improving customer experience. By combining the Kirin Group’s wealth of assets and competence in health science with innovations and technologies that startups will bring to partnerships, Kirin Holdings will be better able to bolster its existing Food & Beverages domain as well as step up efforts to launch new businesses in its Health Science domain.
Supplementary Information
(1) About the KIRIN HEALTH INNOVATION FUND
| Fund name | KIRIN HEALTH INNOVATION FUND (registered as KIRIN and GB Investment Limited Partnership) |
|---|---|
| Primary sector for investment | Startups around the globe operating in the health science domain |
| Established | March 2020 |
| AUM | 5 billion yen |
| Investment period | 10 years |
| General partner | Global Brain Inc. |
(2) About Global Brain
| Company name | Global Brain Corporation |
|---|---|
| Head office | 10-11 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
| President | Yasuhiko Yurimoto |
| Established | January 1998 |
| Primary business | Venture capital business |
| URL | https://globalbrains.com/en |
(3) About Meta Flow
| Company Name | Meta Flow, Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Head office | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| President | Daniel Tal Mor |
| Established | January 2014 |
| Primary Business | Operator and provider of Lumen, a service that improves metabolic conditions through a dedicated respirometer and application. |
| URL | https://www.lumen.me/ |
About Kirin Holdings
Kirin Holdings Company, Limited is an international company that operates in the Food & Beverages domain (Food & Beverages businesses), Pharmaceuticals domain (Pharmaceuticals businesses), and Health Science domain (Health Science business), both in Japan and across the globe.
Kirin Holdings can trace its roots to Japan Brewery which was established in 1885. Japan Brewery became Kirin Brewery in 1907. Since then, the company expanded its business with fermentation and biotechnology as its core technologies, and entered the pharmaceutical business in the 1980s, all of which continue to be global growth centers. In 2007, Kirin Holdings was established as a pure holding company and is currently focusing on boosting its Health Science domain.
Under the Kirin Group Vision 2027 (KV 2027), a long-term management plan launched in 2019, the Kirin Group aims to become A global leader in CSV*, creating value across our world of Food & Beverages to Pharmaceuticals. Going forward, the Kirin Group will continue to leverage its strengths to create both social and economic value through its businesses, with the aim of achieving sustainable growth in corporate value.
* Creating Shared Value. Combined added value for consumers as well as for society at large.
