Today we interview Roberto Grau, CEO of Kyojin S.A. and Founding Member of Juventas4life SL, a company dedicated to the development, formulation, and commercialization of spore-forming probiotics for human consumption linked to the care of the microbiota and health.
1.- Could you briefly explain what Kyojin S.A. does?
Kyojin S.A. is a biotechnology-based company made up of health and food professionals that has been operating in Argentina for about five years. Kyojin S.A. focuses on the research, development, and commercialization of non-dairy probiotics, particularly Bacillus species that have the ability to form spores. Spores are dormant cells that combine the resistance of a “rock” with the vitality of a “seed.” While the probiotic is in spore form, it is resistant to temperature changes (it can be heated, cooled, baked, frozen), desiccation, pH changes (for example, it resists stomach transit before reaching the intestines), or enzymatic attacks, such as lysozyme in the mouth, digestive enzymes, microbicidal peptides, and intestinal bile.
When the probiotic spore reaches the small intestine, it germinates like a seed, giving rise to the active or vegetative form of the probiotic, which then forms a biofilm on the intestinal mucosa, protecting the probiotic and the person’s beneficial lactic bacteria. At this point, it begins to produce numerous health benefits, including intestinal, metabolic, and immune benefits, among others.
2.- What are the main characteristics of your products, and why are they beneficial to the body?
All our products contain spores of the probiotic bacterium Bacillus subtilis natto DG101 (DG: Doctor Grau). This bacterium was isolated 25 years ago from the millennial Japanese food known as Natto. Natto consists of soybeans fermented by this specific bacterium strain. Natto has proven anti-aging properties in humans, as well as protection against osteoporosis (it produces vitamin K2), diabetes, neurodegenerative problems, various types of cancer, and cardiovascular accidents (stroke). This is partly due to the production of the enzyme nattokinase, which also has in vitro properties against the beta-amyloid peptide of Alzheimer’s and gliadin associated with celiac disease.
Our working hypothesis was that in Natto (which consists of fermented soybeans and Bacillus subtilis natto bacteria), it was the bacterium that was the active component responsible for all its health properties in humans. Therefore, 25 years ago, we decided to isolate and characterize it at a biochemical, genetic, and molecular level to prove our hypothesis.
Once we validated our idea through the publication of more than a dozen scientific articles and trained a similar number of licensed professionals and doctors specializing in the subject, we established Kyojin S.A. in 2020.
The company develops different types of dietary supplements, foods, and beverages with the probiotic Bacillus subtilis natto DG101 in spore form. This probiotic does not alter the taste or flavor of food, is entirely resistant, and unlike dairy probiotics in yogurts, does not require refrigeration; it arrives 100% viable to the intestines, where it germinates to become the active probiotic form.
Our scientific studies, published in internationally peer-reviewed journals, demonstrate that Kyojin’s probiotic (Bacillus subtilis natto DG101) can stimulate the immune system, enhance the effects of vaccines, protect neurons from decay related to stress or aging, protect in animal models from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and help regulate and maintain optimal blood lipid levels (cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides) and sugar levels.
In humans, Kyojin’s probiotic helps to speed up the remission of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and overweight (while maintaining specific medication and a healthy diet), regulates intestinal transit against constipation and acid reflux, and, at least in animal models, has healthy anti-aging properties by regulating the insulin-like peptide signaling pathway, the insulin-like growth factor receptor (ILS-IGFR1 pathway), and stress response pathways that protect against oxidative damage (p38MAPK-Nrf2 pathway), which play essential roles in longevity and good health in centenarians (people over 100 years old).
3.- What goals are you pursuing with your expansion strategy?
Our commercial goal at this stage is to internationalize Kyojin probiotics. The first step is to enter the European market, and from there, access the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the African continent.
As a scientific-technological development goal, we aim to deepen and discover new beneficial properties of Bacillus subtilis natto DG101 probiotics, particularly against cancer and human aging.
Both objectives converge in the ultimate goal of improving and protecting human health from birth to the end of life.
Kyojin (Bacillus subtilis natto DG101), along with other spore-forming probiotics we are developing beyond the DG101 strain, either by themselves or through modulation of the microbiome, the second brain, and the gut-brain axis, enables humans to live longer, enjoying good health, without the signs and effects of aging or aging-related diseases (dementia, stroke, osteoporosis, cancer, obesity, diabetes).
4.- Why did you choose the Madrid Community as one of your key points?
For several reasons: Madrid is currently a blue zone with the highest healthy life expectancy in the world; it is a center of attraction for investments and disruptive developments in science and technology on a global scale; it has scientific institutions like the Autónoma and Complutense universities, as well as public and private research institutes of the highest level, and an entrepreneurial ecosystem eager to implement these scientific discoveries and developments into products, goods, and services to improve the quality and extension of people’s lives.
5.- The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in the Madrid Community have become one of the most dynamic and competitive worldwide. What are your expectations with your establishment in our region?
Our expectations are based on starting scientific-technological collaborations as soon as possible, forming work teams with colleagues from the universities and research institutes in Madrid.
In 2024, we conducted a collaboration with EURECAT and MetroFood-UE in Barcelona, where we characterized Kyojin’s probiotic using cutting-edge metabolomic and proteomic techniques. This allowed us to discover new beneficial substances (natural antibiotics) produced by this probiotic bacterium to protect people against infections. We are currently in the process of organizing and drafting a scientific paper on this.
Our scientific-technological goal here in Madrid is to establish ourselves permanently and create stable interdisciplinary work teams based in Madrid to study, obtain scientific support, and develop new products based on the new beneficial effects of Kyojin probiotics (not just Bacillus subtilis natto DG101) against aging and diseases like cancer and dementia in humans. This way, Juventas4life SL will soon become a Spanish biotechnology unicorn dedicated to fighting diseases and preventing human aging.
6.- How has your collaboration with Invest in Madrid been, and how has it helped you?
The first contact with Invest in Madrid was in my hometown, Rosario. It was in November-December 2023 when the Fundación Libertad in Rosario invited local entrepreneurs and investors to a seminar at their facilities, where they made a presentation about Invest in Madrid promoting Madrid as a place to invest and settle. There, I met Luis Socías, and we exchanged the first words and ideas I had about Kyojin S.A.’s internationalization. Then, in March 2024, I participated in several fairs in Spain, including Infarma Madrid 2024, where I took the opportunity to visit Invest in Madrid’s offices. I met Ignacio Cid “Nacho,” who received me and wonderfully explained the role of Invest in Madrid within the structure of the Madrid Community and its mission. I told him my ideas, and he explained how Invest in Madrid could assist in case we chose Madrid to establish the company, as we were also considering Barcelona or Andorra at that time. He sent me the steps I needed to follow, the requirements to meet, and provided me with a list of banks, accountants, and lawyers to consult, along with information about life in Madrid, its industrial, commercial, and academic activity. This conversation with Nacho made me decide to settle in Madrid.
In October 2024, I returned to Madrid as part of a delegation of entrepreneurs organized by the Fundación Libertad (Lic. Ignacio Bongiovanni), the Secretariat of Foreign Trade of Santa Fe Province (Lic. Carolina Losada), and Invest in Madrid (Ignacio Cid). This time, I spent a whole week with Invest in Madrid, sharing my decision to establish the company in Madrid and informing them that I had already started the process. Finally, in January of this year, I returned to Madrid with my partner (Rubén Ares) to establish Juventas4life SL as of January 5, 2025. Now, we continue to work with Invest in Madrid, which is assisting and advising us on the best area in Madrid to set up, considering not only the commercial goals of Juventas4life but also its scientific-technological goals, for which interaction with Madrid’s Science & Technology ecosystem is essential.
7.- How many jobs do you expect to generate in Madrid in the short and medium term, and what types of profiles do you need?
We plan to start our activities in Madrid in May. We are currently in the process of registering our products for commercialization in Spain and the EU. From May, we will be physically present in Madrid and expect to generate between 10 and 15 jobs within the year, including administrative staff, sales personnel, and qualified staff for the development of new products.
From the first year onwards, the number of jobs will depend on the scale of Kyojin’s positioning not only in Spain but also abroad, as well as new developments. At that time, we will begin producing new products either on commission or at Juventas4life’s facilities, generating new sources of employment. There will also be R&D activities that we develop and the qualified professional staff required for them. For example, among the first studies to be conducted in 2025-2026 will be clinical trials in humans on the anti-aging and neuroprotective properties of Bacillus subtilis natto DG101. For this, we will need to form an interdisciplinary team, coordinated not only by Juventas4life but also by public and/or private academic institutions of Science, for which my background and contacts as a university professor and scientific researcher will be of real value.
8.- What would you recommend to other foreign investors thinking of opening their business in Madrid?
Not to “go it alone,” to let go of self-sufficiency, and to work as a team. They should seek advice like we did from Invest in Madrid to understand the ecosystem of the community, its potential, challenges, and the various traffic lights (green, yellow, and red) of any new business activity. I recommend Invest in Madrid and its team. They are the main reason why Juventas4life SL has established itself in Madrid today.