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Fujifilm expands key chip material output to capture AI demand. Fujifilm this month opened a new fabrication building that will help it triple production of post-CMP cleaners - essential for removing particles and residues from wafers after chemical-mechanical polishing - at its factory in Oita Prefecture. SHARE/SAVE Aug 21, 2026 Fujifilm Holdings is expanding production of key materials used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing to capitalize on surging demand. The global expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence has created bottlenecks and shortages across the supply chain, which has boosted the company better known for its cameras and office copier machines. Fujifilm this month opened a new fabrication building that will help it triple production of post-CMP cleaners at its factory in Oita Prefecture. These are essential for removing particles and residues from wafers after chemical-mechanical polishing. The Tokyo-based company spent ¥7 billion ($44 million) on the expansion project after forecasting the market will grow rapidly going forward. Semiconductors mark the most promising growth segment for Fujifilm's business, which has been hurt by stagnation in office equipment sales. The company's stock suffered its worst decline on record last month after earnings disappointed. Fujifilm has been ramping up cutting-edge product development and output capacity of a wide range of semiconductor materials, including CMP slurries, post-CMP cleaners, photoresists and polyimides. Like other Japanese companies in the chip supply chain, Fujifilm is adapting its chemicals expertise from another industrial sector to the precision manufacturing of essential fabrication supplies. Revenue from this business grew 25% from a year earlier in the April-June quarter. The new investment is part of a broader push to establish semiconductor manufacturing materials and biopharmaceuticals as the core businesses at Fujifilm. The company is also considering spinning off the struggling legacy office equipment business, which still accounts for 35% of the group's overall revenue. Fujifilm says listing the unit as a separate company would allow it to make investment decisions more swiftly in its new areas of focus. Fujifilm is looking to position itself as a supplier across more of the chipmaking process, including materials for lithography and advanced packaging. The company has developed AI-driven tools that help engineers identify formulas for new chemicals in a matter of months, rather than the years the research would previously take. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

Engineered circular RNA may improve durability of RNA therapies. Researchers have developed a way to deliver durable circular RNA into cells for longer-lasting effects. Published: August 20, 2026 Decorative image showing laboratory research on developing new lipid nanoparticle delivery vehicles for mRNA therapeutics. Credit: Sumeet Kulkarni / Nagoya University. Read time: 2 minutes Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan in collaboration with FUJIFILM have developed a novel way of delivering circular RNA (cirRNA) into cells, paving way for longer-lasting mRNA-based therapeutics including cancer vaccines and GLP-1 obesity treatments. A crucial part of the success of mRNA vaccines in combating the COVID-19 pandemic was finding a way to insert delicate mRNA strands into its cells. The answer was a class of molecular vehicles named Lipid Nanoparticles (LNP). These microscopic fat bubbles encased mRNA strands, allowing its cells to gulp them in. Once inside, the LNPs released mRNA for gene translation into SARS-Cov-2's spike proteins, triggering an immune response that helped prepare its defenses against the virus. A stronger mRNA payload... Linear mRNA strands carry a cap end and a tail end, which guide ribosomes to initiate the translation of genes into proteins. But degradation enzymes within the cell can also use the same terminal points to attack and break down the mRNA. cirRNA, being a loop, does not have any start or end point. It is thus more resistant to degradation. Additionally, without a specific "stop" marker, ribosomes can keep riding this loop to code for proteins. This makes cirRNA capable of driving gene expression for longer times. * Daily Breaking Science News * Tailored newsletters * Exclusive eBooks, infographics and online events On the other hand, cirRNA relies on internal instructions within its loop for gene translation. As a result, its gene expression efficacy can be lower compared to mRNA's cap and end marker system. To counter this, Hiroshi Abe, Seigo Kimura, and their team at Nagoya University's Integrated Research Consortium on Chemical Sciences (IRCCS) and the Department of Chemistry perfected making a cirRNA with a cap-end. Called Cap-cirRNA, it "combines the strengths of mRNA and cirRNA to provide durability and efficient (gene) translation for a longer time," Abe explains. Gets a new ride into the cell. Next, Abe and his team needed a delivery vehicle that could transport both linear mRNA and their Cap-cirRNA into a cell. For this, they obtained a new lipid nanoparticle called FL0445-LNP from researchers at the Bioscience & Engineering Laboratories at FUJIFILM Corporation. LNPs are similar to soap micelles, with a protective lipid core that houses mRNA material while its outer surface interacts with the aqueous cell environment and cell membrane. Once inside, the LNP is designed to be biodegradable to make the mRNA available for its translation duties. As far as LNPs go, FL0445-LNP is an all-rounder. Its lipid interior features branched biodegradable chains compared to conventional LNPs which have linear chains. The researchers found that this architecture adds more internal flexibility, allowing FL0445-LNP to carry a variety of light, heavy, and structurally different nucleic acids. Additionally, using FL0445-LNP showed a 10-fold increase in mRNA activity while causing negligible inflammatory response compared to conventional LNPs. "Once you have figured out a common way to safely deliver stronger or more durable mRNA, then that opens up many more possibilities," says Seigo Kimura, assistant professor at Nagoya University and the lead author of this study published in Cell Biomaterials. GLP-1 treatments, cancer vaccines, and more... Armed with this vehicle, the researchers tested the delivery of both linear mRNA and Cap-cirRNA using FL0445-LNP. To do this, they chose Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) which is popular in obesity-treatment drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy today. These drugs administer the peptide via subcutaneous injection. But mRNA holds the promise of directly sending the code to produce this peptide to its cells. Paired with the durability of cirRNA, this can increase treatment durations and reduce the need for multiple injections. The researchers successfully demonstrated the in-vivo administration of GLP-1 through both mRNA and Cap-cirRNA in mice using FL0445-LNP. Out of the two, Cap-cirRNA showed higher functional activity, but more research is needed to fine-tune this process. Besides mRNA vaccines and GLP-1 treatments, Abe says this new Cap-cirRNA + FL0445-LNP technology can speed up drug discovery with potential applications in the development of cancer vaccines, genome editing, and protein supplements to treat genetic disorders. Reference: Kimura S, Tsutsumi S, Nakamura N, et al. A branched ionizable lipid nanoparticle platform for versatile in vivo delivery of nucleic acids: Validation from mRNA to capped circular RNA. Cell Biomater .2026. doi: 10.1016/j.celbio.2026.100555 This article has been republished from materials linked above. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Add Technology Networks as a preferred Google source to see more of its trusted coverage. Chosen for you

Fujifilm introduces web browser application "instax Biz(TM) Template Maker" Easily create custom templates for "instax Biz(TM)" with AI-powered subject extraction and layout suggestion features Tokyo, August 19, 2026 - FUJIFILM Corporation announced the launch of "instax Biz(TM) Template Maker," a web browser application that enables users to easily create custom templates for "instax Biz(TM)," [*1] an event solution app supports businesses and brands in strengthening engagement with visitors and creating memorable brand experiences at events. The application will be available from August 19, 2026 in Japan. instax Biz(TM) is an event solution app that connects to printers in the instax(TM) Link series of smartphone printer via Bluetooth[*2], enabling visitors to take and print photos using custom templates featuring company or brand logos, event names, and other customized designs. By providing visitors with personalized instax(TM) prints, the app creates a unique and memorable experience. Visitors can take home instax(TM) prints created with these templates, allowing them to feel a closer connection to the brand, characters, or event content, while enhancing overall event satisfaction and affinity for the brand. In addition, instax Biz(TM) enables users to generate QR codes[*3] within the app and incorporate them into templates. The QR codes can be linked to promotional content, membership registration pages, surveys, and other digital information. This allows businesses and event organizers to maintain communication with visitors after the event, helping build fostering long-term engagement and relationship building. As a solution designed to support customer engagement, sales promotion, and fan marketing initiatives, instax Biz(TM) has been adopted at events and retail locations in more than 100 countries and regions around the world. As adoption of instax Biz(TM) continues to expand at events and retail locations around the world, demand has grown among businesses and event for an easier way to create customed templates without specialized design or image-editing expertise. "instax Biz(TM) Template Maker" is a web browser application that enables businesses and event organizers to create custom template designs for use with instax Biz(TM). AI-powered image processing technology automatically removes backgrounds and extracts subjects from uploaded images, such as photos of people and logos. The application then generates multiple layout suggestions by combining the extracted images. Users can easily create professional-looking templates simply by selecting the layout that best matches their desired design. The application enables users to quickly and easily create templates tailored to the theme of an event or a brand's image, even without specialized design and image editing knowledge. By simplifying the template creation process, it helps reduce the time and costs traditionally required for template production. As a result, event organizers can make more effective use of instax Biz(TM), allowing them to focus on enhancing brand visibility and engaging with event attendees. Fujifilm will continue to enhance its services to help businesses and event organizers deliver engaging photography experiences more easily, fostering deeper connections between brands and their audiences through new forms of communication. * *1 A free app for Android and iOS devices. It is available for download from Google Play for Android devices and from App Store for iOS devices. Android and Google Play are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google Inc. iPhone and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc. The iPhone trademark is used in Japan under license from Aiphone Co., Ltd. The iOS trademark is used under license from Cisco in the United States and other countries. * *2 The Bluetooth(R) word mark and logo are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and FUJIFILM Corporation uses these marks under license. * *3 QR code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED. 1. Service name, Price, Release date. | Service name | Price | Release date in Japan | | instax Biz(TM) Template Maker | Free of charge[*4] | August 19, 2026 | *4 Company information is required to download templates. 2. Main features of "instax Biz(TM) Template Maker" (1) AI-powered image processing feature automatically extracts subjects to create high-quality extracted images. When users upload images such as photos of people or logos, the AI-powered image processing feature automatically extracts the subjects and removes the background. This enables users to easily create images for templates without requiring specialized image-editing skills. The application also allows for fine adjustments, such as adding transparent areas, making it possible to create high-quality images in a short amount of time. (2) Intuitive template creation with AI-generated layout suggestions. The application generates multiple layout suggestions by combining extracted images. By simply selecting the layout that best matches their desired finished design, users can quickly create the foundation of a template. They can further customize the template by adjusting the position, size, and angle of images using drag-and-drop controls, and by adding dates, event names, and decorative frame elements. With these intuitive editing tools, users can create templates tailored to the look and feel of their event or brand. (3) Instantly use custom templates with instax Biz(TM). Templates created with the application can be downloaded in a format compatible with the "instax Biz(TM)" application. This enables a seamless workflow from template creation to event deployment. About the instax(TM) brand. Since its original launch in 1998, the instax(TM) series of instant cameras has embraced trends and evolving technologies with time and expanded its lineup to include not only analog instant cameras, but also hybrid instant cameras using digital technology, smartphone printers and palm-sized digital camera. The instax(TM) continues to offer diverse ways to enjoy photography, broadening the user base in more than 100 countries. * * instax, instax print, instax Biz are registered trademarks or trademarks of Fujifilm Corporation. Contact. Media contact. FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation Corporate Communications Division, Public Relations Group Customer contact. Please contact your nearest Fujifilm Office. For information on Fujifilm subsidiaries and distributors, please access the following website. * * Please note that the contents including the product availability, specification, prices and contacts in this website are current as of the date of the press announcement and may be subject to change without prior notice.