Capital and Business Tie-up with SUSMED, Inc.

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Hyodo) has concluded a capital and business tie-up agreement with SUSMED, Inc. (hereinafter, “SUSMED”), which develops medical apps and also provides development platforms for medical apps.

Medical apps are software used to treat specific diseases by using digital technology. Such apps are expected to be effective for the treatment of lifestyle-related diseases, central nervous system diseases and other diseases that are difficult to fully cure with existing pharmaceuticals and require lifestyle-related improvements and cognitive and behavioral changes for fundamental recovery. Medical apps are deemed medical devices to be prescribed by physicians and could be covered by health insurance if approval for them is obtained in line with the Japanese Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices.

SUSMED is promoting digital transformation for pharmaceuticals and medical treatment by providing medical apps and applying its blockchain technology and AI automatic analysis systems to pharmaceuticals and medical treatment. This R&D-oriented company is developing medical apps for insomnia, with an eye to providing insomniacs, the number of whom is estimated to be 6 million in Japan, with effective therapy on a continual basis. SUMED is also developing medical apps for other diseases, aiming to prevent patients from needing to take medicine excessively and to help reduce the burdens imposed on doctors and nurses. Moreover, SUSMED holds patents for its blockchain technology and AI automatic analysis technology. The former technology helps prevent data falsification and impersonation, thereby ensuring the safety and reliability of medical data, and the latter is expected to contribute to higher data analysis efficiency and cost reduction. By making use of these technologies, the company is developing and delivering support systems for online medication counseling and clinical development.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary Summit Pharmaceuticals International Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation offers a range of services to support the research, development and manufacture of pharmaceuticals and also engages in the pharmaceutical business in the United States. Through partnership with SUSMED, Sumitomo Corporation will expand its medical business to include the digital field and seek to grow the business, including the pharmaceutical business. Also, capitalizing on its integrated corporate strength, Sumitomo Corporation will consider measures to provide added value and start new businesses in a wide range of medical fields, including the digital marketing and healthcare fields, thereby contributing to the diffusion and spread use of medical apps.

(Reference)

■SUSMED, Inc.

■Medical apps

• A type of software also called “digital treatment” and “digital therapeutics.” These digital technology-based apps are used for the prevention of diseases and for the support and implementation of medical diagnosis, treatment and care. They are used individually or with pharmaceuticals and other medical devices.
• In Japan, when the aforementioned law was enacted in 2014, medical apps were included as “medical device program” in the target for which approvals are to be obtained in line with the law. These apps are being developed mainly for diseases that are difficult to fully cure with existing pharmaceuticals, such as lifestyle-related diseases and mental illnesses.
• Medical apps differ from general healthcare apps in that clinical trials are conducted for medical apps to find evidence that confirms their medical efficacy toward approval by the authorities and coverage by health insurance.
• Medical apps are expected to foster digital transformation for pharmaceuticals by providing new therapies other than those based on the administration of pharmaceuticals.  

■Sumitomo Corporation’s  Material Issues
Sumitomo Corporation Group positions “Six Material Issues to Achieve Sustainable Growth with Society” as an important factor in developing business strategies and in the decision-making process for individual businesses. Going forward, we will pursue sustainable growth by resolving these issues through our business activities. This project especially contributes to “Contributing to the Development of Local Communities and Industries” and “Establishing a Foundation for Comfortable and Enriching Lifestyles”.