Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.

Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Company Limited

Kazuo Kumagai

Nobuo Hosotani

Satoshi Mitsuda

Toru Kimura

Kaoru Kikuchi

Akiyoshi Kishino

Ryu Nagata

Yoshiki Takashima

Masatomo Fukasawa

Yasuyuki Ueki

Shin Tanaka

Teruhisa Tokunaga

Akio Fukui

Kazuhiko Okazaki

Emiko Kawano

Koichi Moriguchi

Takashi Umezome

Kiyoshi Taya

W Ewan Hume

Misao Miki

Compounds represented by the general formula (1) wherein Rand Rare each independently hydrogen or a carboxyl group and Rand Rare each independently hydrogen or a hydroxyl group, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, which exhibit semaphorin-inhibitory activity and are useful as preventives or remedies for neuropathic and neurodegenerative diseases are provided.

Compounds as semaphorin inhibitors

To provide a semaphorin inhibitor; a peripheral or central nerve regeneration promoter which contains said semaphorin inhibitor as an active ingredient; and a preventive or remedy for a neuropathic disease and a neurodegenerative disease containing said nerve regeneration promoter, or the like. A low-molecular weight compound, which acts at a concentration of 10 &#x3bc;g/ml or below to inhibit the growth cone collapse activity of semaphorin such as semaphorin 3A, semaphorin 6C or the like and/or the nerve outgrowth inhibitory activity of semaphorin in a collagen gel and which does not substantially affect cell proliferation, is obtained from the culture of strain SPF-3059 belonging to the genusThe low-molecular weight compound with the semaphorin inhibitory activity thus obtained exhibits the in vivo nerve-regeneration promoting action.

Nerve regeneration promoters containing semaphorin inhibitor as the active ingredient

To provide a semaphorin inhibitor; a peripheral or central nerve regeneration promoter which contains said semaphorin inhibitor as an active ingredient; and a preventive or remedy for a neuropathic disease and a neurodegenerative disease containing said nerve regeneration promoter, or the like. A low-molecular weight compound, which acts at a concentration of 10 &#x3bc;g/ml or below to inhibit the growth cone collapse activity of semaphorin such as semaphorin 3A, semaphorin 6C or the like and/or the nerve outgrowth inhibitory activity of semaphorin in a collagen gel and which does not substantially affect cell proliferation, is obtained from the culture of strain SPF-3059 belonging to the genus. The low-molecular weight compound with the semaphorin inhibitory activity thus obtained exhibits the in vivo nerve-regeneration promoting action.

Oxindole derivative

There is disclosed a process for the production of biotin, in which a culture of a microorganism of the genus Sphingomonas, having an ability to produce biotin, is prepared in a medium, and biotin produced and accumulated in the medium is collected. Also disclosed are microorganisms of the genus Sphingomonas, having an ability to produce biotin, which are useful for this production process of the present invention.

Process for production of biotin using bacteria belonging to the genus

There is disclosed a process for production of amide compounds which includes converting a nitrile compound into an amide compound using a cultured broth of bacterial cells, or bacterial cells or materials obtainable by treating bacterial cells, the bacterial cells being cells of a microorganism Agrobacterium radiobacter FERM BP-3843, having activity to convert nitrile compounds into corresponding amide compounds.

Process for production of amide compounds using agrobacterium radiobacter

A novel antibiotic of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and preparation of the antibiotic by cultivating Nocardia sp. SC-4710.

Antibiotics, and their production

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Sanda, Japan

Kazuo Kumagai