Sumitomo Corporation Acquires Malaysian Managed Care Provider CompuMed as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary- Providing Patients Quality Medical Care at Fair Prices and Contributing to Medical Costs Optimization in Healthcare -

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Shingo Ueno), has acquired through its group company SC Healthcare Holdings ("SCH") 100% ownership of CompuMed Services Sdn. Bhd. ("CompuMed"), which operates a managed care business in Malaysia.

Current State of Healthcare in Malaysia

In recent years, an increase in chronic diseases such as diabetes has become a social issue in Malaysia. The quality and supply of medical services have not kept pace with increased demand for medical care, however, giving rise to issues such as a lack of appropriate medical services and long wait times for taking medical care. In addition, medical costs are increasing at an annual rate of more than 10 percent due to the increasing advanced medical services.
Unlike Japan, Malaysia does not have a public medical insurance system, and medical costs are borne by individuals (patients), private health insurance companies and corporations (hereafter "the three parties"). As medical costs are rising, the need to the costs optimization for the three parties is an increasingly pressing issue.

Managed Care Business Functions

Managed care is a system that provides quality medical care at an optimized price and improves patient personal health management. Managed care providers, operate as a platform between the three parties and medical institutions, aim to optimize medical costs through the provision of preventive services, in addition to reviewing and managing the payment of medical expenses. For example, in Malaysia medical bills sent from medical providers are reviewed to ensure that optimal treatment and medication are being provided. Individuals are encouraged to get health checkups and vaccinations for pre-symptomatic and prevention of diseases, thereby reducing medical costs.

Our Investment Goals

CompuMed is a managed care company in Malaysia that provides services tailored to the needs of private health insurance companies and corporations. By leveraging CompuMed's royal customer base and high-quality customer service, SCH will secure approximately 40% of the managed care market in Malaysia and further strengthen its business foundation as the number one managed care provider in the country.

Sumitomo Corporation's Healthcare Business in Southeast Asia

With the aim of quality medical care and medical costs optimization in the healthcare business, Sumitomo Corporation entered the managed care in 2019 and clinic businesses in 2020(hereafter "both businesses") in Southeast Asia , which have extensive contact with patients through primary care(*) in Malaysia. Efforts to provide pre-symptomatic and preventive services, including online consultation and prescription services through DX and health management programs in collaboration with our clinic business, have resulted in both businesses becoming market leaders in Malaysia.

Strategies for Future Growth

In the new medium-term management plan announced in May 2024, the healthcare business continues to be positioned as a growth business. We will continue to accelerate these efforts and also consider expanding our business beyond primary care into specialized medical care, such as ophthalmology, orthopedics and dentistry . In addition, we will promote the development of services through medical data analysis. For example, efforts to detect disease in the early stages and prevent serious illness in people at high risk will reduce hospitalization, surgery and other expensive treatments, thereby keeping medical costs down.

Our aim is to reduce medical expenses in Malaysia by approximately 30 billion yen by 2030. We are also actively considering business expansion to other regions in Southeast Asia, including Singapore and the Philippines.

• Primary care services:
  Community healthcare services that comprehensively and continuously address all health problems and diseases, including pre-symptomatic conditions and disease prevention, serving a public health management function.

【Reference】

＜CompuMed Company Profile＞

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