Asahi Kasei Licenses Technology For Rapid Detection Of Bacteria Causing Bovine Mastitis

Contributing to rapid formulation of appropriate policy for treatment and management at dairy farms

Asahi Kasei has licensed technology that it developed for detecting bacteria causing bovine mastitis to AR BROWN Co., Ltd., a technology-focused trading company in the fields of electronics, automotive, pharmaceuticals, aviation & aerospace, biotechnology, etc. A license agreement was concluded in August 2025 covering the territories of Japan, Asia, and the Middle East.

In its medium-term management plan “Trailblaze Together” for 2025–2027, Asahi Kasei is promoting solution businesses and licensing businesses utilizing intangible assets. As an initiative to accelerate this effort, Technology-value Business Creation (TBC) utilizes intangible assets such as patents, know-how, and data accumulated through the company’s research and development to quickly create new businesses on the premise of commercialization through co-creation with partner companies.

Issues of bovine mastitis testing in the dairy industry
Bovine mastitis (inflammation caused by bacterial infection of the udder) is a serious issue in the dairy industry. One of the most common diseases in dairy cows, bovine mastitis causes a decline in milk quality and yield. It is estimated that clinical mastitis causes an annual global economic loss of approximately US$13B.¹ Identifying the causative bacteria is essential for formulating appropriate treatment plans for the infected cows as well as hygiene management plans for the entire herds. Conventional testing methods such as bacterial culture tests and PCR tests² are performed in laboratories by specialized testing institutions, and usually take a day or more to obtain results, making it difficult to quickly formulate plans for treatment and hygiene management.

The licensed technology
Having conducted research on technology to detect bacteria for diagnosis of infectious diseases in the healthcare field, Asahi Kasei accumulated a lineup of antibodies for a wide range of bacterial species and the know-how to develop test kits that can be used with various types of sample. Utilizing such technology and know-how, the company developed proprietary testing technology that can detect coliform, staphylococci, and streptococci, which are major causes of bovine mastitis, from samples of raw milk. The technology allows dairy farmers to easily and rapidly detect bacteria in raw milk by themselves. This enables rapid formulation of appropriate treatment and management plans, which is expected to reduce economic losses associated with mastitis infections.

The license agreement provides for an upfront payment and royalties based on the value of sales after commercialization. Asahi Kasei will support AR BROWN in quickly commercializing the technology by providing know-how in addition to granting the patent license.

By licensing the technology, Asahi Kasei aims to make bacterial testing easier and more rapid at dairy farms while contributing to more accurate treatment of bovine mastitis and hygiene management throughout entire herds.

Moving forward, the company aims to achieve a better future for people and the Earth by creating intangible assets and providing value through R&D with a vision of “Where transforming tomorrow begins.”

For more information on Asahi Kasei’s TBC initiative, visit https://www.asahi-kasei.com/r_and_d/oi/#anc-05

For more information on Asahi Kasei’s utilization of intangible assets, view the material dated December 13, 2024 https://www.asahi-kasei.com/ir/library/presentation/

For more information on AR BROWN, visit https://www.arbrown.com/english/

¹ Global losses due to dairy cattle diseases: A comorbidity-adjusted economic analysis. J. Dairy Sci. 107:6945–6970

² Bacterial culture tests are performed by culturing bacteria contained in a sample of raw milk to identify the causative bacteria. PCR tests are performed by amplifying the DNA of bacteria contained in a sample of raw milk to identify the causative bacteria.