The other day, while watching a BS (Broadcasting Satellites) news program, I saw a commercial promoting “patented ingredient XX blended!” and “patent number XXX”. Perhaps it is an occupational hazard of working at a patent office, but I took note of it when I noticed it (laugh). It is a product called “Etak® Antibacterial Spray α” (Eisai). I did a little research and here is what I found out.
Since it was an Eisai commercial, I naturally assumed that it was patented by Eisai Co., Ltd. but when I looked up “Japanese Patent No. 4830075” on J-PlatPat, a patent information platform, I found that it was a patent shared not by Eisai but by Hiroshima University and Manac Incorporated.
Incidentally, the registered trademarks “Etak” (in katakana) and “Etak” are also owned by Campus Medico Co., Ltd. The company is a university venture that commercializes the results of research conducted at Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (the company’s website also lists Japanese Patent No.4830075 under “Patents held by our company,” but according to J-PlatPat, Hiroshima University and Manac Incorporated are still the patent holders).
This area is a little confusing, but on Manac’s special Etak website, in addition to Eisai, Kurabo Industries Ltd. and Jex Inc. is introduced in the “related products” page so it seems the three companies are licensed. It is difficult to understand the situation by browsing only the websites of the licensee companies, but this time I was able to confirm the information because it was introduced in a commercial along with the patent number and was also introduced on the websites of each company.
E-tak® Antibacterial Spray α is advertised as a product that “when sprayed on doorknobs, tables, or anywhere else you are concerned about, the long-lasting antimicrobial ingredient prevents the growth of viruses and bacteria in the sprayed area,” which sounds like it would sell well after the Corona disaster in 2020, but further research revealed that it had won the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun Award for Excellence in the Nikkei Superior Products and Services Awards in 2018, before the Corona disaster. …Did you know about this?
Related Link
Product infomation | Etak Antibacterial Spray α | Eisai Co., Ltd. (hubspotusercontent40.net) (PDF)
https://etak.manac-inc.co.jp/ (Etak special website, Japanese only)
https://www.manac-inc.co.jp/etak/index.html (Manac Incorporated Product Information, Japanese only)
CAMPUSMEDICO
https://www.nikkei.com/edit/news/special/newpro/2018/index.html (Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun Award Products 2018, Japanese only)
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