Social Innovation

Supporting Drug Discovery as Well as Accurate and Efficient Cancer Diagnosis－Precision Medicine

Related SDGs

Precision Medicine

Supporting Drug Discovery as Well as Accurate and Efficient Cancer Diagnosis

The significant side effects and ballooning costs of cancer treatment have become social issues. Precision medicine, in which medications are chosen for patients who have been grouped according to their physiological characteristics as analyzed based on genes and proteins, is gaining attention as a solution.

Konica Minolta makes accurate and efficient cancer diagnosis a reality by combining its original technology for making visible specific proteins such as those found in cancer cells with technologies of two Konica Minolta Group companies in the US. In June 2019, Konica Minolta began joint R&D on next-generation comprehensive cancer gene panel testing with the University of Tokyo and the National Cancer Center Japan Research Institute. This has launched the company's full-scale participation in the effort to promote cancer genomic medicine in Japan. In July 2022, Konica Minolta received marketing approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for its system for cancer genomic profiling exams.

Group company Ambry Genetics Corporation, a major genetic diagnostic provider in the US, has expanded its genetic diagnostic services for cancer patients by launching the CARE Program, which offers these services to healthy and unaffected individuals. The CARE Program uses medical interviews to identify people with a risk of hereditary cancer, provides counseling and tests, and then uses the results to propose a cancer examination plan tailored to each individual. Leveraging this expertise, Ambry Genetics launched the CARE Program in Japan in April 2021 in collaboration with the Seirei Social Welfare Community.

Moreover, Konica Minolta has begun a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) on LATTICETM, an integrated diagnostic data platform that combines genomics, pathology and radiology data with other critical medical information to create the next generation of diagnostic tests. Konica Minolta will use LATTICE to provide cutting-edge analytics services for clinical trials and drug discovery around the world.

Going forward, Konica Minolta will continue to provide comprehensive services to pharmaceutical companies, academia, medical institutions, companies and employers.

Original technology differentiates cancer cells