APAC-SCA Welcomes Sumitomo Riko as Strategic Corporate Member, Strengthening Industrial Leadership in Cellular Agriculture Across Asia-Pacific
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[June 9, 2026]
The APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA) is pleased to announce that Sumitomo Riko Company Limited has joined the Society as a Strategic Corporate Member, marking an important milestone in the continued expansion of industrial leadership within the cellular agriculture ecosystem across Asia-Pacific.
As one of Japan’s leading advanced materials and engineering companies, Sumitomo Riko brings decades of expertise in polymer science, precision manufacturing, fluid technologies, sound/ vibration controls, and advanced materials innovation. With global operations spanning mobility, infrastructure, healthcare, and emerging technology sectors, the company’s participation reflects the growing recognition among industrial corporations that cellular agriculture represents a strategically important frontier for next-generation biomanufacturing and sustainable food production.
For APAC-SCA, the addition of Sumitomo Riko represents more than a new membership — it signals the accelerating engagement of established multinational industry leaders in the future of cellular agriculture.
As the sector advances from early-stage research toward scalable commercialization, the involvement of large industrial companies will be increasingly essential to solving some of the industry’s most critical challenges, including scalable manufacturing systems, bioprocess optimization, materials engineering, supply chain development, and production infrastructure.
“Welcoming a globally respected company such as Sumitomo Riko is an important moment for our ecosystem,” said Peter Yu, Program Director APAC-SCA. “The future of cellular agriculture will not be built by startups alone. It will require deep collaboration with major industrial, manufacturing, engineering, and materials companies capable of supporting large-scale commercialization across Asia-Pacific and beyond. Sumitomo Riko’s participation reflects the growing maturity and strategic importance of the sector.”
Sumitomo Riko has already demonstrated meaningful engagement with the cellular agriculture field through its collaboration with Japanese cultivated meat pioneer IntegriCulture. The partnership has focused on enabling scalable cultivation technologies, including the development of the ‘Oxy-thru Cultivator™,’ an innovative cultivation platform designed to improve oxygen transfer efficiency and support more effective cell cultivation environments.
The company’s entry into APAC-SCA underscores a broader global trend: the convergence of biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, material science, and industrial engineering in building the next generation of food systems.
APAC-SCA is also pleased to welcome Mr. Naoki Funamoto as a key facilitator representing Sumitomo Riko within the Society. Mr. Funamoto has actively supported industry engagement and partnership development efforts connected to emerging food technologies and cellular agriculture, helping strengthen collaboration between industrial manufacturing capabilities and next-generation biotechnology ecosystems.
“Sumitomo Riko positions cellular agriculture as a key strategic growth area for enabling next-generation food production, and we are delighted to join APAC-SCA in the Asia-Pacific region, which is leading the industrialization of the sector. By integrating our expertise in Polymer Materials Technologie with our bioreactor manufacturing capabilities, we aim to contribute to the development of scalable bioproduction infrastructure. Through close collaboration with our partners, we will further accelerate the industrialization of this emerging field” said Naoki Funamoto, Business Development Lead at Sumitomo Riko.
The inclusion of Sumitomo Riko further reinforces APAC-SCA’s mission to convene leading stakeholders across science, industry, investment, policy, and manufacturing to accelerate the responsible growth of cellular agriculture throughout the region.
With Asia-Pacific continuing to emerge as one of the world’s most important hubs for cultivated meat and advanced food biotechnology, APAC-SCA remains committed to fostering meaningful collaboration between startups, researchers, policymakers, investors, and established multinational corporations shaping the future of sustainable food production.
About APAC-SCA
The APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA) is a regional industry association dedicated to advancing cellular agriculture across Asia-Pacific through ecosystem building, stakeholder engagement, education, policy dialogue, and cross-sector collaboration.
About Sumitomo Riko
Sumitomo Riko Company Limited is a global Japanese manufacturer specializing in advanced polymer technologies, precision engineering, and industrial materials solutions across mobility, healthcare, infrastructure, and emerging technology sectors. The company is actively exploring enabling technologies for cellular agriculture and next-generation biomanufacturing systems.
Sumitomo Riko Partnership with IntegriCulture
Inquiries about this Press Release
Sumitomo Riko Company Limited, Life Innovation Business Unit
Email: bio-mems@jp.sumitomoriko.com
Hours: 9:00–17:00 (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, Golden
Week, summer holidays, and year-end/start holidays)
APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture
Email: info@apac-sca.org