OPTiM®

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Press Release

February 6, 2019
OPTiM Corporation
Sysmex Corporation

OPTiM and Sysmex Enter Alliance
in the Area of “Advanced Medicine x AI and IoT”

Accelerating Development and Deployment of IT Solutions and Platforms to
Support Next-Generation Healthcare and Diagnostics

OPTiM Corporation (HQ: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; President: Shunji Sugaya) and Sysmex Corporation (HQ: Kobe, Japan; Chairman and CEO: Hisashi Ietsugu) have agreed to form a comprehensive business alliance to develop medical information technology (IT) solutions utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), and to roll out services globally in the area of advanced medicine. By connecting the various medical equipment located at medical institutions over networks and building a platform involving AI to analyze the information obtained by such equipment, the companies aim to collaborate on initiatives to develop and commercialize solutions at an early stage that will support next-generation healthcare and diagnostics.

Information technologies such as AI and IoT are gaining attention as technologies central to the innovation that will foster next-generation industrial structure. In the healthcare field, in recent years genetic testing that obtains massive quantities of genetic information has become more commonplace, and interest in preventive medicine is growing. Against this backdrop, the data medical institutions handle is becoming increasingly diverse and extensive in scope. People close to the field expect that AI and IT can be employed to help medical institutions use this data to optimize their operations and enhance quality, as well as to develop precise diagnostic methods and technologies for predicting drug efficacy, both of which are required for personalized medicine.

OPTiM and Sysmex have agreed to enter into a comprehensive business alliance in the area of advanced medicine to combine the extensive expertise and global sales and service network that Sysmex possesses in the healthcare field with OPTiM’s AI and IoT services (such as “OPTiM Cloud IoT OS”) and commercialization expertise. The companies intend to create an open platform that uses AI to analyze the information obtained by medical equipment connected over a network, and then leverage this platform to develop new medical IT solutions at an early stage and roll them out globally.

Based on this business alliance, the companies aim to develop services that will support medical institutions’ efforts to enhance efficiency and quality, such the remote monitoring of medical equipment and the use of AI in responding to inquiries. The companies will also consider the specific scope of collaboration as they aim to develop new disease prediction systems that combine genomic information with AI analytics, as well as new diagnostic methods that incorporate AI analytics into image data from various medical tests. The companies also aim to develop network services that will support remote healthcare and preventive medicine. In order to make medical IT solutions a business reality at an early stage, going forward the companies plan to optimize their collaborative structure, possibly through a capital alliance.

As a first step in medical IT solutions in the area of advanced medicine, the two companies will move forward with the network connection of surgical support robots being developed by Medicaroid Corporation (HQ: Kobe, Japan; President: Yasuhiko Hashimoto), a joint venture between Sysmex and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. The two companies will also work to jointly develop and verify the utility of services to support the optimization of the entire operating room.

OPTiM and Sysmex will work to optimize synergies between their two companies and contribute to the development of healthcare and the healthy lives of people by taking advantage of sophisticated AI and IoT technologies to develop and commercialize medical applications and IT platforms.

About OPTiM Corporation

Under the concept of "We make the Net as simple as breathing," OPTiM aims to change the fact that, although the Internet has already become an essential part of our everyday life, there is still a certain IT literacy necessary to use it. Since its inception, OPTiM engages in developing products that allow everyone to benefit from the opportunities and convenience the Internet brings.

Through creating intellectual property by performing proactive research and development in new areas, OPTiM continuously creates new markets and innovations. OPTiM strives to create universal technology/services/business models that positively influence the life of people all over the world.

Company Profile

About Sysmex Corporation

In line with its mission of “shaping the advancement of healthcare,” which is defined in the “Sysmex Way,” the corporate philosophy for the Sysmex Group, Sysmex works to contribute to the development of healthcare and the healthy lives of people. Sysmex conducts integrated R&D, manufacturing and sales and provides support services for the instruments, reagents and software for in-vitro testing of blood, urine and other bodily fluids. Sysmex supplies its products to medical institutions in more than 190 countries and regions throughout the world. In recent years, Sysmex has been expanding its business in the life science domain, using proprietary technologies in an effort to create new testing and diagnostic value, realize healthcare that is optimized for individual patients, and help reduce patients’ burdens and enhance their quality of life.

Company Profile