Advangen, Inc.

Advangen, Inc. is a Japanese biotechnology venture founded in February 2002 in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, within the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The company focuses on hair health and the hair growth environment, applying cutting-edge gene research and life science findings to develop products that support the growth of thick, long hair. Its core scientific interest lies in the hair cycle and the role of FGF-5, a signaling molecule identified in 1994 as a switch from the growth phase (anagen) to the regression phase (catagen) of the hair cycle. Advangen's research targets the hair papilla, the command center for hair growth, to modulate this signaling pathway. The company obtained manufacturing and sales licenses for quasi-drugs and cosmetics in July 2005 and has since marketed hair care products under its own brand. It operates an official online shop, Advangen Shop, and has expanded internationally. In September 2009, it opened a Taiwan office in Taipei. In April 2011, it entered into a sales partnership with Advangen International (Australia) for the US and European markets. It also established a joint research laboratory with Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in China in January 2011, focusing on natural product chemistry and pharmacological exploration. Advangen relocated its headquarters several times: from Tsukuba to Kashiwa's Kashiwanoha Campus area in May 2007, and then to its current location in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, in March 2017. The company also maintains a hair gene research team at the Tokyo University of Science's Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences in Noda, Chiba. In September 2024, Advangen launched a new microbiome business called "w/biome" and began selling "w/biome" Bresta tablets in March 2025. The company remains a private entity, with no public listing indicated.

Advangen, Inc. was founded in February 2002 in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, as a biotechnology venture incubated within the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). In August 2002, it was certified as an AIST venture company. The company's scientific foundation rests on hair cycle research, particularly the discovery in 1994 that FGF-5 acts as a switch from the anagen (growth) phase to the catagen (regression) phase of the hair cycle, and a 1998 paper identifying the hair papilla as the target of FGF-5. Advangen aims to apply these findings to develop products that promote thick, long hair. In July 2005, Advangen obtained licenses to manufacture and sell quasi-drugs and cosmetics. In May 2007, it relocated its headquarters to Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, specifically to the Kashiwanoha Campus area at the Tokatsu Techno Plaza. In October 2007, it established the Hair Growth Gene Research Laboratory at the University of Tokyo Kashiwa Venture Plaza. In September 2009, it opened a Taiwan office in Taipei. In December 2009, it hosted the Advangen Symposium on Hair Cycle and Molecular Signaling, an international symposium. In January 2011, Advangen signed a joint research agreement with Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in China and established the "Japan-China Joint Laboratory for Natural Product Chemistry and Pharmacological Exploration" in Benxi, Liaoning Province, China. In April 2011, it entered a sales partnership with Advangen International (Australia) for the US and European markets. In March 2017, the headquarters moved to its current location at Shin'ei Building 5F, 4-6-3 Kashiwa, Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture. The company also maintains a hair gene research team at the Tokyo University of Science's Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences in Noda, Chiba. In September 2024, Advangen launched a new microbiome business called "w/biome" and in March 2025 began selling "w/biome" Bresta tablets. The company continues to operate as a private biotechnology venture, with no public listing indicated.

• Founded in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.

• Certified as an AIST venture company.

• Obtained licenses to manufacture and sell quasi-drugs and cosmetics.

• Relocated headquarters to Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture (Kashiwanoha Campus area, Tokatsu Techno Plaza).

• Established the Hair Growth Gene Research Laboratory at the University of Tokyo Kashiwa Venture Plaza.

• Opened Taiwan office in Taipei.

• Held the Advangen Symposium on Hair Cycle and Molecular Signaling (international symposium).

• Signed joint research agreement with Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, China; established the Japan-China Joint Laboratory for Natural Product Chemistry and Pharmacological Exploration in Benxi, Liaoning.

• Entered sales partnership with Advangen International (Australia) for the US and European markets.

• Relocated headquarters to Shin'ei Building 5F, 4-6-3 Kashiwa, Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture.

• Launched microbiome business "w/biome".

• Began selling "w/biome" Bresta tablets.

Biotechnology venture applying gene research to hair health, offering quasi-drugs and cosmetics that promote thick, long hair.

• Quasi-drug hair growth products

  Hair growth products developed based on gene research, aimed at promoting thick, long hair.

• Cosmetics

  Cosmetic products for hair care.

• w/biome Bresta tablets

  Tablet product under the w/biome microbiome brand, launched in March 2025.

1. 1遺伝子研究で髪を太く長く育てる 株式会社アドバンジェンadvangen.co.jp
2. 2会社概要 - 株式会社アドバンジェンadvangen.co.jp
3. 3Advangen, Inc. (Japan) - Wikidatawikidata.org