Regenerative Remake

With Chairman Shigetaka Komori at its helm, Fujifilm Holdings Corp. shifts the company away from photo-film and to new science and technology markets: Ebola drugs, anti-aging lotions and stem cell research. Over the last decade, Komori diversified into new businesses as demand for the company’s trademark green photo- film boxes plummeted and archrival Eastman Kodak Co. went bankrupt. Fujifilm this year reported record profit of 119 billion yen ($950 million) and analysts expect a jump of more than 5 percent by next spring. Last month it announced a 100 billion yen share buyback -- its largest ever.  Now, Fujifilm is venturing further into unchartered territory, with plans to spend more than 400 billion yen on acquisitions by 2017, add new product lines and make a more aggressive push into health care. Among the new ideas: a filter for natural gas purification and stem cells capable of regenerating tissue in the human body.