TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Konica Minolta, Inc. (“Konica Minolta”) (TOKYO: 4902) (ISIN: JP3300600008) today announced the launch of Konica Minolta Precision Medicine Japan, Inc. (“KMPMJ”) which will start operations on October 1, 2018. KMPMJ is a 100%-owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta with responsibility for marketing high-end precision medicine tools and diagnostic services in Japan. Precision medicine is medical care that uses genetic and molecular profiling to optimize treatment for specific groups of patients.
The tools needed to diagnose, treat and develop new therapies
KMPMJ will be led by president Ken Masuo, a seasoned marketing executive with over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, and will be based in Tokyo with 23 employees. KMPMJ will provide tools to identify and track disease-linked biomarkers1 and related services to accelerate the development of targeted therapies. It will also offer diagnostic and prognostic testing services using genes, proteins, and other molecules that increase physicians’ ability to assess and treat their patients’ disease.
The launch of KMPMJ is the latest development in Konica Minolta’s ambitious goal of transforming personalized medicine. Building on its own world-class capabilities in medical imaging and software as well as its proprietary protein quantification technology, High Sensitivity Tissue Testing (“HSTT”)2, Konica Minolta announced its intentions to revolutionize personalized patient care in 2017 with the acquisitions of Ambry Genetics, Corporation (“Ambry”), a top American genetic testing and analysis firm, and Invicro, LLC (“Invicro”), a leading provider of drug discovery support services using AI technology. Combining the synergistic technologies of these three companies, KMPMJ addresses an unmet need in modern healthcare for reliable, standardized, and integrated technologies that support every aspect of translational medicine. Currently, biopharmaceutical companies and research institutes must piece together technologies from different sources to conduct translational research, which can lead to inefficiencies, inaccuracies or quality control issues.
Ken Masuo president of KMPMJ commented, “I am honored to lead this ground-breaking company in Japan, where we will undertake molecular-level analysis and support drug discovery processes utilizing Konica Minolta’s breakthrough technology, High-Sensitivity Tissue Testing, together with the technologies of Ambry and Invicro. Our new company can contribute to medical progress and revitalization of the industry through the deployment of our diagnostic services. The outcome will be the right treatment at the right time for more patients, through more efficient and affordable healthcare.”
Adding value through precision medicine
To deliver precision medicine, it is vital to identify how diseases evolve in individuals, basing decisions on an array of information. These data extend from gene mutation types and treatment selections to protein levels that drugs target, medicinal efficiency projections, and organ disease progressions and prognoses.
By leveraging or integrating the technology platforms of Konica Minolta, Ambry, and Invicro, KMPMJ will provide molecular level detection, analytics, and informatics that can deepen knowledge about the functions and connections between genes, proteins, and organs.
The company will benefit from a global drug discovery and R&D support network involving more than 1,000 employees from the individual companies.
Specific precision medicine solutions
- For pharmas and academia, KMPMJ will offer customized services that accelerate and streamline R&D by identifying, quantifying and characterizing disease-linked biomarkers.
- For medical institutions, KMPMJ will offer genetic diagnostics services, molecular marking and analytics.
- For researchers analyzing diverse biological information from multiple sources, KMPMJ will offer bioinformatics services based on amassed data.
- For clinical researchers in academia and the biopharmaceutical industry, KMPMJ will also offer clinical trial patient selection services based on molecular biomarkers.
“This is an exciting day for Konica Minolta and our colleagues at Ambry and Invicro. It is an important step towards realizing our corporate goal of being a digital company with insight into major societal challenges such as health care,” said Kiyotaka Fujii, president of Konica Minolta Healthcare. “KMPMJ enables us to provide pharmaceutical companies, academics and medical institutions/hospitals with a single point of contact they can rely on and trust over the long-term in their search for solutions and in keeping pace with the ever-evolving science and technology of modern medicine.”
About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta, Inc. (“Konica Minolta”) is a global digital technology company with core strengths in imaging and data analysis, optics, materials, and nano-fabrication. Through innovation, we create products and digital solutions for the betterment of business and society—today and for generations to come. Across our Business Technologies, Healthcare, and Industrial-facing businesses, we aspire to be an Integral Value Provider that applies the full range of our company’s expertise to offer comprehensive solutions to our customer’s most pressing problems, work with our partners to ensure our solutions are sustainable, anticipate and address tomorrow’s issues, and tailor each solution to meet the unique and specific needs of our valued customers. Leveraging these capabilities, Konica Minolta contributes to productivity improvement and workflow change for our customers, and provides leading-edge service solutions in the IoT era. Headquartered in Tokyo and with operations in 50 countries, Konica Minolta has more than 43,000 employees serving approximately two million customers in over 150 countries. Konica Minolta is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, (TOKYO: 4902). For further information, visit: https://www.konicaminolta.com/
About Konica Minolta Precision Medicine Japan
Konica Minolta Precision Medicine Japan Inc. (“KMPMJ”) will launch on October 1, 2018 as a 100% owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc. KMPMJ will be one of the first companies in Japan to offer an integrated solution for pharmaceutical companies, academics and medical institutions/hospitals in high-end precision medicine tools and diagnostic services in Japan. Precision medicine is medical care that uses genetic and molecular profiling to optimize treatment for specific groups of patients. KMPMJ will be led by Ken Masuo, a seasoned marketing executive with over 30 years of experience in healthcare and will be based in an office in Hamamatsu-cho, Tokyo with 23 employees.
1 Biomarkers are indicators of issues with genetic, protein,
or organ states, including from blood, urine, and tissue samples and
medical imaging.
2 KONICA MINOLTA is pioneering a new
molecular imaging technology called High Sensitivity Tissue Testing
(HSTT) that offers unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy in the
detection, quantification and precise location of proteins within a cell
associated with disease and cellular function. In addition to its
initial use in proteomics, HSTT is a platform technology for studying
the molecular causes and characteristics of a disease with potential
future applications in cytology, blood testing and the real-time
monitoring of mRNA, miRNA, and DNA in living systems.
