As incidents related to dangerous drugs continue to emerge as a social issue, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has introduced "comprehensive designation," which categorizes substances with similar structural components as illegal drugs. This includes strengthening regulations on the manufacture and sale of designated drugs, as well as prohibiting possession and use. Additionally, Tokyo, which has its own drug regulations, is also strengthening penalties under the "Tokyo Ordinance on the Prevention of Drug Abuse." For pharmaceutical and chemical companies that handle various chemical substances daily, it has become essential to verify the latest legal regulations concerning the chemicals they intend to handle before taking any action. However, the increasing regulatory burden raises the risk of overlooking regulatory information. The CRAIS Checker, which rapidly determines the regulatory status of chemical substances based on their structural formulas, addresses recent regulations that are difficult to manage through investigations of CAS numbers or lists of regulated substances, thereby supporting quicker and more reliable compliance responses. Furthermore, our regulatory substance check technology has been selected as a solution for regulatory drug compliance by the non-profit organization Pistoia Alliance, and we also offer a "Compliance Checker" that complies with drug regulations in North America, various European countries, and India, which is available in the global market.

Currently, our regulatory substance assessment software, "CRAIS Checker," is widely used by many companies in Japan and is set to make its overseas debut with a new specification following its adoption in the Pistoia Alliance CSCS Project. In the global arena, the movement towards compliance with chemical substance management regulations has become increasingly stringent, and pharmaceutical companies have been struggling with the complex regulations that vary by country. In response, the Pistoia Alliance launched the Controlled Substance Check Service (CSCS) project last year, aiming to provide a global regulatory information source within a single system. Our company, in collaboration with our partner ChemAxon, applied for the development of this system and has now been officially selected for adoption. This recognition is based on our extensive track record and operational know-how in Japan, and we sincerely thank all the domestic users who have helped us develop our products thus far.

Chemaxon, a leader in the development of cheminformatics software for life sciences research, has announced the appointment of Richard Jones as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Richard succeeds the owner, Ferenc (Csizi) Csizmadia, in this role. Csizi will continue to serve as a founder while focusing on the establishment of Ancestralize, which is centered on health and well-being in the digital age. Additionally, coinciding with Mr. Richard's appointment, Chemaxon's Budapest office has relocated to the newly constructed environmentally friendly office park, Váci Greens, on the east side of the Danube River. A new logo and spelling have also been announced. For more details, please visit the news article on our company's homepage via the link below.

Evotec AG has introduced and started operating the "Compliance Checker" at all of its research sites to support the proper handling and storage of chemicals at research facilities worldwide. There are various chemical regulations and movements in many countries and regions, and particularly in cases involving multiple countries, such as collaborative research and outsourcing, it has previously taken a lot of difficulty and time to understand these regulations and keep information up to date. The "Compliance Checker" is a technology and content package that provides an interface and backend integration tool to identify, warn, and assist in the proper handling of regulated substances. Alex Drijver, CEO of ChemAxon, the global distributor of Compliance Checker, stated, "We are pleased that Compliance Checker has been adopted by a company like Evotec, which has research sites around the world and conducts various research activities. We believe that Compliance Checker provides the capability to enhance customers' compliance levels without difficulty."