To the press
Oct 28, 2021
Diagnostic Consortium to Advance the Ecosystem for Hereditary Angioedema
IBM Japan, Ltd. Integrity Healthcare Co., Ltd. MedPeer, Inc., and Sudler Japan
will be joining our consortium.
~ “Promote the digitalization of early diagnosis of hereditary angioedema and increase the diagnosis rate”~
Diagnostic Consortium to Advance the Ecosystem for Hereditary Angioedema (Soka city, Saitama Prefecture, Representative Director Michihiro Hide / Takahiko Horiuchi) is pleased to announce that four companies with extensive experience in the development and deployment of digital solutions in the medical industry – IBM Japan, Inc., Integrity Healthcare Co., Ltd., MedPeer, Inc., and Sudler Japan, will be joining our consortium.
The consortium’s goal is to promote appropriate early diagnosis of HAE and improve the diagnosis rate to help patients suffering from undiagnosed HAE. The consortium was established in February 2021 and is mainly composed of healthcare professionals (12 physicians), patient groups (NPO HAEJ, Patient Association Kumimu), and pharmaceutical companies (Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited., Torii Pharmaceutical Co ., Ltd., CSL Behring K.K.).
At present, we have established three working groups (hereinafter referred to as “WG”), including WG1: AI analysis of medical data, WG2: Non-specialist*1 diagnosis support, and WG3: Disease awareness campaign for undiagnosed patients. We have been promoting the related activities and will work with four companies, which have extensive experience in the development and deployment of digital solutions in the medical field, to further accelerate these activities.
*1: “Specialists ” and“ Non-Specialists ” in this text do not refer to specialists and non-specialists certified by the specialist evaluation and certification organization in Japan, but to physicians who have been making efforts to provide medical care and support to patients in the HAE field for many years.
The working groups and related activities of the newly joined companies are as follows.
< WG1: Medical data AI analysis >
Participant: IBM Japan, Inc. (Press Release)
IBM Japan will leverage its experience in advanced diagnostic imaging system and medical data utilization to build diagnostic support artificial intelligence (“AI”) to conduct early diagnosis of potential HAE patients based on electronic medical records and medical receipts. IBM Japan will work with WG members to investigate how to leverage AI technologies to establish a mechanism to minimize medical negligence.
< WG2: Non-specialist diagnosis support >
Participant: Integrity Healthcare Co., Ltd. (Press Release), MedPeer, Inc. (Press Release)
Integrity Healthcare will use its online medical care support system called “YaDoc Quick” *2, which is increasingly utilized due to COVID-19, to establish a mechanism for non-specialists to consult specialist remotely regarding the diagnosis of HAE in a timely and accurate manner.
Medpeer will launch a “HAE disease special webpage”*3 on its physician platform “MedPeer”, which is participated by about 40% of domestic physicians in Japan, to improve the recognition and diagnosis rates of HAE through providing HAE related knowledge to the member physicians. In the future, MedPeer will continue its endeavors in enhancing physicians’ understanding of HAE by providing seminars and educational contents.
*2: Test will be conducted at selected medical institutions from November 2021
*3: Expected to be launched in 2021
< WG3: Disease awareness campaign for undiagnosed patients >
Participant: Sudler Japan
Sudler Japan will leverage its extensive experience in disease awareness to establish a Disease Awareness Website*4 that contains disease related information, to promote consultation by unrecognized and undiagnosed HAE patients.
This website will disseminate information in a neutral manner, in consistent with the position of the consortium, to support patients with appropriate early consultation and treatment selection.
*4: Expected to be launched in January 2022
Outline of the Consortium
| Name of consortium | Diagnostic Consortium to Advance the Ecosystem for Hereditary Angioedema (Abbreviation: DISCOVERY) |
| Location | 1-7-22 Matsubara, Soka-shi, Saitama |
| Establishment | February 8, 2021 |
| Representative Director | Michihiro Hide / Takahiko Horiuchi |
| Director | Isao Ohsawa / Chinami Hashimura / Beverly Anne Yamamoto |
| Auditor | Shojiro Nakatani (Yoshimura) |
| Participating members | [Corporations] Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited / Torii Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd / CSL Behring K.K. / HAE Patient Association Kumim / NPO HAEJ [Individual] Isao Ohsawa / Yoshihiro Sasaki / Akio Tanaka / Akira Tanaka / Yuji Nomoto / Michihiro Hide / Tomoya Hirose / Atsushi Fukunaga / Takahiko Horiuchi / Daisuke Honda / Hiromasa Yakushiji / Kohei Yamashita (Alphabetical order) |
| Secretariat | Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting LLC |
| Business description | Development and dissemination of technology-based medical data analysis techniques to support the diagnosis of hereditary angioedema Project which supports medical professionals to achieve appropriate early diagnosis of hereditary angioedema Awareness program for hereditary angioedema Exchange, support and network-building projects with experts and related organizations on hereditary angioedema Other businesses incidental or related to the businesses listed in the preceding items |
■For media inquiries regarding this release, please contact
Diagnostic Consortium to Advance the Ecosystem for Hereditary Angioedema PR Office
Contact: Sato, Nakazawa, Kyodo Public Relations. Co., Ltd.
Phone: 03-6260-4864
Email: discovery.jimukyoku-pr@kyodo-pr.co.jp
■For inquiries from the general public, please contact
Diagnostic Consortium to Advance the Ecosystem for Hereditary Angioedema
E-mail: contact@discovery0208.or.jp