ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today the formation of a capital alliance with medical marketing company PHASE ONE Inc. (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Kazumoto Inaba, President & COO; hereinafter “PHASE ONE”).

Increase medical care expenses for the aging society in Japan is a serious issue that requires improvement and efficiency in the medical industry. The expanding spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused a rapid rise in demand for new digital technology. Medical institutions are now required to restrict contact with hospitalized patients and clients in an effort to prevent the spread of infections inside hospitals. Amid these developments, the market size for digital solutions for medical and nursing industry is predicted to grow to 47.2 billion yen in 2017 and about 190 billion yen in 2030.^*1

PHASE ONE is a pioneer of digital solutions provider for the medical and healthcare industry. The company operates on a philosophy of invigorating medical industry, including the development and operation of digital solution products and services. One of PHASE ONE’s assets include a network of university medical professors and directors. This network was cultivated over many years with strategic relationships with practicing medical professionals providing guidance and supervision on products and services. This ensures provisioning of high quality products and highly credible services in the medical field.

ITOCHU has formed a capital alliance with PHASE ONE to develop digital technology solutions for medical institutions in Japan and international markets. The following two services will be introduced.

This is a service providing live and archival streaming of educational content for doctors. As opportunities for face-to-face instruction diminish, we are making it possible for doctors to impart their techniques and insights remotely. We are aiming to expand the number of practicing physicians, add new educational content and increase medical subscribers in the future, as well as broadcasting internationally to audiences that have strong interests in Japanese medical techniques.

The healthcare and medical industry has traditionally required a vast number of physical and in-person meetings, including seminars and conferences at medical offices and hospitals conducted by pharmaceutical companies on new medication. New communication technologies now make it possible to hold meetings virtually and online. ITOCHU and PHASE ONE will initially enable pharmaceutical companies to communicate remotely with doctors, and later expand service by enabling direct communications between doctors to provide online diagnosis and treatment services.

ITOCHU continues to focus on the healthcare industry and plans to develop new services together with PHASE ONE, and seeks to further accelerate the promotion of digital transformation initiatives for companies both in Japan and abroad.