The Tokyo Consortium held the "Bio Wellness Tokyo Startup Pitch" on January 2023, 1 for startups and various supporters (companies, VCs, universities, local governments, etc.). On the day of the event, managers from five active startup companies based in the Tokyo area took to the stage in Nihonbashi to present an overview of each company's business and the social issues they are trying to solve. The audience participated both at the venue and online and had a lively discussion.
The Tokyo Consortium continues its activities with the goal of ``establishing the city as a global hub for the startup ecosystem.'' Tokyo is home to 3% of Japan's top universities and Fortune Global 500 companies (2nd place in the world), and has abundant resources and high potential for nurturing startups.
Today's pitch is from the Bio-Wellness Working Group, which is one of the initiatives of the Tokyo Consortium. The WG is engaged in "initiatives to commercialize seeds, promote investment, and expand the market in the bio-wellness field."
Efforts to use technology to solve the problem of increasing social security costs (pensions, welfare, etc.) due to the declining birthrate and aging population are becoming increasingly important. In the diagram below, the healthcare field is divided into health and prevention (Pre-hospital), diagnosis and treatment (Intra-hospital), and prognosis and nursing care (Post-hospital). Recently, various services that utilize IT technology and digital data are being provided in each phase, but the market size is expected to expand especially in the "Pre" and "Post" hospital areas, which correspond to before and after diagnosis and treatment. 10.3 → 12.5 trillion yen, 17.3 → 20.6 trillion yen, both from 2020 to 2025).
In line with this trend, the government and private companies are also promoting digitization to create seamless service provision using big data such as electronic medical records, medical fees, and receipt data.
On the other hand, in the biotechnology field, the Tokyo area has a wealth of academic seeds and development pipelines compared to other biocommunities around the world. The government launched the Greater Tokyo Biocommunity (GTB) in the Tokyo area in order to achieve the goal of ``realizing the world's most advanced bioeconomy society by 2020'' in the Bio Strategy 2030.
GTB will build a strategic value chain by concentrating and networking a wide variety of institutions responsible for various functions from research and development to commercialization, and will attract human resources and investment from all over the world to create an attractive market. We are promoting the goal of establishing a system to become a "bioinnovation hub" that provides products and services.
Biotechnology is being researched, developed, and used in a wide range of industries, including not only medical and pharmaceutical development, but also materials, chemistry, agriculture, and food. Today's pitch featured three startups from the Wellness (Healthcare) field and two startups from the Bio field.
ヒューマンライフコード株式会社
Human Life Code (Chuo-ku, Tokyo) is a 6-year-old drug discovery bio-venture that uses umbilical cord tissue to socially implement cell medicines. Based on technology seeds from the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo, we are engaged in research and development of cell medicines produced by mass culturing mesenchymal cells derived from the umbilical cord. At the same time, in order to commercialize cell therapy with sustainable development potential, we have established a supply chain group through partnerships to deliver cell medicines manufactured from discarded umbilical cords to as many patients as possible with unmet medical needs. . Phase 2 trials are currently underway for non-infectious pulmonary complications following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, an intractable disease with a high mortality rate.
株式会社インテグリティ・ヘルスケア
Integrity Healthcare (Chuo-ku, Tokyo) is a company that develops and provides YaDoc, an online disease management system that connects doctors and patients. Currently, we provide services to approximately 4,000 medical institutions nationwide. Collaboration with local medical networks such as ``Hydrangea Net'' is being strengthened not only in the Tokyo area but also in Nagasaki Prefecture, which has many remote islands. It is also highly convenient for patients, such as remote medical treatment for patients with incurable diseases and management of diet and exercise by linking devices with patients with lifestyle-related diseases.
株式会社アルガルバイオ
Algal Bio (Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture) is a company that uses algae research and development results and databases from the University of Tokyo to provide optimal algae technology for industrial fields such as health, food, and the environment. Industries that use algae are attracting attention in the form of biofuels and health foods such as chlorella, but only about 30 of the 30 types of algae are used industrially. Our company is building an algae biofoundry and aiming for a market-in type business model so that we can provide the necessary algae to the necessary industries and markets.
株式会社クォンタムオペレーション
Quantum Operation (Chuo-ku, Tokyo) develops and provides unique optical devices that enable non-invasive continuous blood glucose monitoring. Currently, self-monitoring of blood sugar (blood sampling) always requires an invasive procedure and is painful. Our optical device can constantly measure blood sugar levels without feeling pain, improving the patient's QOL. In addition, our group companies develop IoT devices such as medical device-quality ring-shaped pulse oximeters (Vinsta Ring), operate pharmacies for domestic and overseas patients, and provide online medication guidance.
株式会社イノフィス
Innophys (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) is a company that uses seeds from Tokyo University of Science to develop and sell waist and arm assist suits. We provide our assist suits as a solution to issues such as the decreasing workforce due to the declining birthrate and aging population, the increased burden on caregivers, and the independence of the elderly. Our products are lightweight and easy to install without using motors or batteries. Demonstration tests have shown that it can reduce the burden on your lower back by up to 45%. The products are mainly used by customers in nursing care, manufacturing sites, agriculture, construction, etc., and are already sold in 18 countries and regions around the world (including Japan).
For more information about the startup companies you are interested in, we would appreciate it if you could check the company's website.
