NEWS

February 22, 2021
PHC Corporation

TOKYO, February 22, 2021 - PHC Corporation (headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Kyoji Morimoto, hereafter PHC) launches its specialty drug management system (SDMS)^*1 a component of the personalized medicine^*2 support platform NOVUMN^*3 in Japan. NOVUMN is a new platform that is being developed as part of a collaboration between PHC, Alfresa Corporation (headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Yusuke Fukujin, hereafter Alfresa) and Fujitsu Japan Limited (headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and Representative Director: Toshio Hirose, hereafter Fujitsu Japan).

The Good Distribution Practice (GDP) guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in December 2018, promote the importance of consistently high levels of quality and standardized information management for drug distribution, such as strict temperature controls and counterfeit drug prevention measures. In particular, many specialty drugs^*4, including a growing number of orphan drugs and biopharmaceuticals^*5, require strict cold storage management within a low temperature zone compared to conventional drugs, as deterioration may occur with the slightest temperature changes. Therefore, the distribution of these drugs requires even stricter temperature control compared to other pharmaceutical products, enhanced traceability for each individual drug container, and the ability to optimize inventory at any point in the supply chain to ensure the stable supply of specialty drugs.

Using RFID^*6, cloud-based infrastructure, and IoT technology, the newly launched SDMS can centrally manage information about the specialty drugs that have been stored in sliding door pharmaceutical refrigerators at medical institutions. This information includes integrated storage/retrieval history, inventory status, storage temperature, and expiration dates that can be viewed or aggregated easily via online applications. By managing the information flow and distribution process together, this new system contributes to safe and secure distribution by preventing deterioration, as well as streamlining management and reducing specialty drug wastes. Since the system can be added to existing sliding door pharmaceutical refrigerators^*7, there is no need for new purchases of dedicated refrigerators, allowing medical institutions to easily install and operate this system by utilizing existing appliances.

PHC Corporation is a Japanese subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation, a healthcare company that develops, manufactures, sells and services solutions across diabetes management, life sciences and diagnostics globally, as well as providing healthcare services in Japan. The newly-launched SDMS enhances the value of the existing products in the PHC portfolio and provides new services for drug distribution management in the Life Sciences business.

Nobuaki Nakamura, Corporate Officer and co-head of the Life Sciences/Diagnostics Domain of PHC Holdings Corporation says, “Our life sciences business dates back to 1966 when the company launched our first pharmaceutical refrigerators. Our solutions continue to be acclaimed by our customers for their precision technology and the high-quality craftsmanship we have built over half a century. By adding RFID, cloud-based infrastructure and IoT technology to our precision hardware, we expect this new specialty drug management system will enable more precise and safe drug distribution management. By improving the ability to track the transportation and storage conditions of specialty drugs, patients can have more confidence that they are receiving doses of critical treatments that have been reliably and safely transported in the right conditions.”

*1 Specialty Drug Management System (SDMS), PHC applying for trademark registration
*2 Tailor-made medicine optimized for each patient’s constitution or disease
*3 Alfresa applying for trademark registration. For details on NOVUMN:
www.alfresa.co.jp/upload/pdf/art_744ed00796c162562485cced544399e7.pdf (Japanese website)
*4 Medicine that needs strict temperature and quality management or medicine that is rarely used
*5 Medicine developed from substances produced by human biomolecules (enzyme, hormone, antibody, etc.) or organisms such as viruses and bacteria
*6 Technology for exchanging information through RF tags embedded with ID information by short-range (several centimeters/meters depending on frequency band) wireless communication using electromagnetic field and radio waves
*7 The following eight models are compatible PHC products: MPR-S163-PJ, MPR-S313-PJ, MPR-S150H-PJ, MPR-300H-PJ, MPR-514-PJ, MPR-514R-PJ, MPR-1014-PJ, MPR-1014R-PJ (as of February 2021)
www.phchd.com/global/biomedical/preservation/pharmaceutical-refrigerators

About PHC Holdings Corporation

Incorporated in 2014, PHC Holdings Corporation is a global healthcare company with subsidiaries including PHC Corporation, Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings AG, Epredia, and LSI Medience Corporation. Committed to its corporate mission that states, “We contribute to the health of society through our diligent efforts to create healthcare solutions that have a positive impact and improve the lives of people,” the company develops, manufactures, sells and services solutions across diabetes management, life sciences and diagnostics, as well as providing healthcare services. The PHC Group’s consolidated net sales in FY2019 were 272 billion yen with global distribution of products and services in more than 125 countries.
www.phchd.com

About Biomedical Business Unit of PHC Corporation

Established in 1969, PHC Corporation is a Japanese subsidiary of PHC Holding Corporation, a healthcare company that develops, manufactures, sells, and services solutions across diabetes management, life sciences and diagnostics globally, as well as providing healthcare services in Japan. Committed to its corporate mission, “We contribute to the health of society through our diligent efforts to create healthcare solutions that have a positive impact and improve the lives of people,” the company offers value-added products and services to customers in more than 125 countries. The Biomedical Business Unit helps scientists and researchers in over 110 countries through its laboratory and medical support equipment and services including CO₂ incubators and ultra-low temperature freezers.
www.phchd.com/global/biomedical/about-phcbi

About Alfresa Corporation

Alfresa Corporation has a social mission which is the secure, reliable and high-quality distribution of pharmaceutical products, diagnostic reagents and medical devices, etc. to its customers – when needed, what’s needed and where needed. Its nation-wide sales network covers Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hokkaido, Koshinetsu-region, and Kyushu-region with a full line of best-in-class products from domestic and overseas manufactures. Alfresa Corporation is making efforts to meet the diverse customers’ needs flexibly and instantly with the support of its secure quality control systems, safe and trusted distribution system and high-quality provision of information.
www.alfresa.co.jp (Japanese website)

About Fujitsu Japan Limited

Fujitsu Japan was established on October 1, 2020 as the Fujitsu Group’s core company that embodies the group’s purpose to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation in the Japanese market. The company provides solution/system integration that utilizes its abundant knowhow and offers consistent services from package development to operation, while promoting digital transformation (DX) business using AI/cloud services, local 5G, etc. Fujitsu Japan also provides various solutions in the life sciences and healthcare areas. Especially in EDI service for pharmaceutical wholesalers and pharmaceutical safety management solutions for pharmaceutical companies, the company has top industry shares.
www.fujitsu.com/jp/fjj/ (Japanese website)

Media contact

Corporate Communications Group
PHC Holdings Corporation
+81-3-6778-5311