HxD 2021

ACCJ drives innovation by bringing together startups and big pharma

Last August, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) announced Healthcare x Digital, an XPRIZE-style competition meant to spur industry-changing technologies and connect Japan-based startups with major pharmaceutical companies and public officials.

Driven by the ACCJ Healthcare Committee—with support from the chamber’s Kansai Chapter—the initiative is led by ACCJ Corporate Sustaining Members AstraZeneca K.K., Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC, and President’s Circle Member Eli Lilly Japan K.K.

The inaugural event was a huge success, with 28 companies submitting proposals. Three finalists were selected from this pool, and each emerged from the December 1 Pitch Event with awards and prize money to help them continue development of their ideas. Honors went to:

• Bisu, Inc.: Best Innovation; the Moonshot Prize
• MediFrame, Inc.: Best Value Proposition
• MICIN, Inc.: Best Product

Great Opportunity

In a follow-up interview, Bisu Chief Executive Officer Daniel Maggs told The ACCJ Journal that participation in the Healthcare x Digital competition was important to them because “it matters for us to have validation and recognition from the medical industry, because we care very deeply about quality.”

Ryoichi Kusama, co-founder and senior vice president of MICIN, said that his company wants to help the medical industry change from within and become a player that can be trusted. Therefore, “the biggest plus is that it has expanded the collaboration with major pharmaceutical companies.”

And Mediframe CEO Atsushi Wada said that it meant a lot to him to be recognized by AstraZeneca, Bayer, and Lilly. “For them to see the potential in my company made me feel very pleased and encouraged.”

This year’s competition will once again bring together global healthcare leaders with top and emerging tech companies, entrepreneurs, and innovators in the search for new ideas.

Three Challenges

Healthcare x Digital 2021 will carry forth the goal of forging new partnerships and creating new solutions to solve Japan’s most critical community healthcare and individual patient challenges by focusing on three areas:

• Overcoming the urban vs. rural healthcare divide
• Reimagining the hospital of the future
• Empowering patients to own their healthcare

These areas tie into the digital transformation of society and can help Japan continue to take care of—and provide even better care for—all its citizens. Demographic and economic trends are creating a strong contrast between rural and urban regions, and these shifts will require Japan to adopt new healthcare approaches and solutions. One question being asked in this year’s competition is how digital technology can break down the boundaries of distance to provide great and uniform care for everyone, no matter where they live.

Of course, reform of the healthcare system puts great pressure on hospitals to transform themselves and make better use of tools and resources. Technology is certainly key to that makeover, but what are the most innovative digital levers that can open up those paths to greater efficiency?

Another important part of ensuring that the healthcare system remains sustainable is empowering individuals to monitor their own health. A great example of such a tool is Bisu’s home health lab, for which the startup won ¥1 million in funding at last year’s competition. The elegant and easy-to-use system supports a range of tests that anyone can perform at home, allowing early disease detection and providing a way for individuals to track their health and adjust their daily lifestyle habits and decisions.

Joining Forces

At the core of Healthcare x Digital is the goal of bringing together emerging players—who have healthcare ideas, but require partners—with established players looking for innovative ideas to solve healthcare challenges.

This is made possible through the Healthcare x Digital ecosystem, which comprises four groups:

• Innovators and startups
• Established companies
• Government organizations
• Academic and non-profit institutions

These public, private, and non-profit sector players join forces to deliver all the pieces required to envision and execute groundbreaking solutions.

In the private sector, startups often have innovative digital healthcare ideas, but they lack the partnerships to evolve them. Teaming up with established companies that have the resources to develop an idea and bring it to market can allow the startup not only to grow as a company, but to change the course of future healthcare.

In the public and non-profit sectors, government bodies are searching for solutions to long-term healthcare challenges, such as cost, quality, and access. They want to drive innovation, which can lead to economic growth, but how to drive that change is not always clear. Academics and research institutions have insights that can help effect change, and they need a way to translate this into real-impact non-profit organizations.

Pitch Your Idea

Healthcare x Digital 2021 began accepting submissions on July 1 and the deadline is October 1. Evaluation of submissions is set to start on October 5. Pitches will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Focus on patient and community needs
• Healthcare x Digital value proposition
• Need for an ecosystem to flourish

Everyone who participates in Healthcare x Digital will benefit from having their ideas reviewed by top executives from leading international healthcare and technology companies.

Those selected to participate in the Pitch Day will be invited to the full-day virtual event on October 14. Finalists will then take part in the HxD Ideas Day on November 11, a hybrid in-person and virtual event at which they will present to a panel of leading healthcare and pharmaceutical executives—all empowered to initiate business deals and new relationships on behalf of their global brands.

Monetary prizes will also be awarded, and the finalists will meet with senior executives from the organizing sponsors. Winning companies will receive mentoring and support from healthcare professionals and executives from organizing sponsors.

Join us to discover Japan’s most innovative healthcare ideas and develop partnerships to make them a reality.

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Sponsors

President’s Circle Sponsor

Eli Lilly Japan K.K.

Organizing Sponsors

AstraZeneca K.K. | Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd. | Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC | i2.JP (Innovation Infusion Japan)

Contributing Sponsors

Dentsu | K&L Gates LLP | NRW Global Business | Omron Corporation | Trilations G.K. | Real Life Sciences

Supporting Organizations

City of Kobe | Embassy of the United States, Tokyo | Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe | Global Venture Habitat | GVH#5 | LINK-J | Osaka Innovation Hub

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Impact of Engagement

Continuing our efforts to communicate the value of investing in health

Japan faces a very modern problem: its success in delivering universal health coverage and fostering longer life expectancy has led to demographic and social changes that are giving rise to a new set of interconnected healthcare challenges.

As the Japanese government moves to reform its healthcare system to address these challenges, new policy approaches will be necessary. Promoting innovation in all areas of the system will allow for increased healthy life expectancy and improved productivity, helping Japan move to the next phase of economic growth. And all this can be achieved while maintaining Japanese patients’ access to the most cutting-edge medicines, technologies, and treatments, while ensuring the security and stability of health and social care.

With the right approach and policies, Japan can continue to improve the health of its citizens and create a blueprint that aging societies around the world can follow.

More Agile Advocacy

On the back of our successful health and retirement work, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Healthcare Committee is now moving forward with our biennial health policy white paper. The upcoming report will look different compared with earlier reports. Previous white papers published by the Healthcare Committee have included topics ranging from the use of advance modeling and simulation in pandemic-related planning to improving cervical cancer screening. However, the wide range of topics made it difficult to maintain an up-to-date and compelling narrative in a single document.

Starting with our next white paper, we plan to create more succinct recommendations that fit with the overall messages of our committee viewpoints. The individual viewpoints will become the tools with which to dig deeper into issues featured in the white paper, thus creating a hybrid set of materials that can be updated regularly and used with greater agility in our advocacy. We are excited about the new format, and appreciate the ongoing contributions of member companies.

In the forthcoming white paper, we plan to explore a range of issues, focusing our recommendations across four key themes:

• Investing in prevention, early detection, and treatment of disease
• Maximizing healthcare quality and efficiency through digital and data innovation
• Developing innovation policy, exploring reimbursement models
• Ensuring the financial sustainability of Japan’s healthcare system

We believe that each theme will help Japan chart a path to more sustainable healthcare, and we encourage you to join upcoming Healthcare Committee meetings to learn more about our ongoing efforts and to help us finalize our recommendations.

To help you consider what form those final recommendations should take, here is more information about each of the key themes.

1. Prevention, early detection, treatment

In recent years, the Japanese government has shifted its focus from simply caring for disease to applying the practices of prevention, early detection, and earlier aggressive treatment to reduce overall healthcare expenditure and to sustain the productivity of its citizens. While significant progress has been made, much more could be done.

2. Digital and data innovation to boost quality, efficiency

Recognizing the need for better healthcare data management, the Japanese government has begun to centralize data platforms, accelerate data-driven innovation programs, and strengthen cybersecurity infrastructures to safeguard against external threats.

Yet, despite these efforts, Japan trails other developed countries in the implementation of a comprehensive healthcare data platform. Much more could be done to incentivize better collection and utilization of healthcare-related data.

3. Innovation policy, reimbursement models

In response to calls for the acceleration of healthcare innovation in Japan, the government launched a healthcare innovation initiative in 2014. Since then, the government has pursued several broad initiatives for research and development support, as well as the registration, authorization, commercialization, and evaluation of new healthcare technologies.

Despite this, reforms made to the pricing of, and reimbursement for, innovative medical technologies threaten to undo the progress made over recent years. With the clear purpose of delivering innovative healthcare to people in need, as soon and safely as possible, more could be done to allocate physical, human, and financial resources to maximize the potential for innovation.

4. The healthcare system’s financial sustainability

Japan’s healthcare system is respected around the world for its quality of care and contribution to long life expectancy. However, the aging society and low birthrate are straining a system designed, starting in 1868, primarily to control infectious and acute diseases in a different population structure. Improving the overall financial health of the system will be critical as more of the population ages and the workforce shrinks further.

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ACCJ Healthcare White Papers & Viewpoints

The ACCJ Healthcare Committee strives to stimulate multi-stakeholder partnerships and discussions that will drive healthcare transformation by identifying practical, tangible actions and providing innovative solutions that address patient needs and ensure the sustainability of Japan’s healthcare system. Read advocacy documents and get involved in the committee’s ongoing efforts at: www.accj.or.jp/healthcare-advocacy.

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