NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Konica Minolta today announced the launch of Konica Minolta Precision Medicine Japan to market high-end precision medicine tools and diagnostics services in Japan.
Set to start operations on Oct. 1, KMPJM will provide diagnostic and prognostic testing services based on genes, proteins, and other molecules to aid physicians in assessing and treating patients. The company, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta, will also provide tools for identifying and tracking biomarkers that are associated with diseases to accelerate the development of targeted therapies.
Last year, Konica Minolta moved into the genetic testing and analysis space with the acquisition of Ambry Genetics, and it also bought drug discovery support service firm Invicro. In a statement today, Konica Minolta said that KMPMJ will leverage those capabilities along with its expertise in medical imaging and software and its protein quantification technology called High Sensitivity Tissue Testing.
"Combining the synergistic technologies of these three companies, KMPMJ addresses an unmet need in modern healthcare for reliable, standardized, and integrated technologies that support every aspect of translational medicine," Tokyo-based Konica Minolta said.
Medical institutions would benefit from KMPMJ's genetic diagnostic services and capabilities in molecular marking and analytics, Konica Minolta said, while pharma and academia would be able to leverage KMPMJ's customized services that can accelerate and streamline R&D by identifying, quantifying, and characterizing disease-linked biomarkers.
KMPMJ will also provide bioinformatics services that researchers can use for analyzing biological information from multiple sources. Meanwhile, it will offer clinical trial patient selection services based on molecular markers to clinical researchers in academia and biopharma.
Ken Masuo will be KMPMJ's president. The firm will be headquartered in Tokyo and have 23 employees.
"Our new company can contribute to medical progress and [the] revitalization of the industry through the deployment of our diagnostic services," Masuo said. "The outcome will be the right treatment at the right time for more patients through more efficient and affordable healthcare."