Marubeni, OPExPARK, Beyond Next Ventures and DENSO Collaborate to Promote DX in the Healthcare Industry

News provided by

Apr 01, 2022, 11:27 ET

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, "Marubeni"), OPExPARK Inc. (hereinafter, "OPExPARK"), Beyond Next Ventures Inc. (hereinafter, "BNV") and DENSO CORPORATION (hereinafter, "DENSO") have agreed for Marubeni to invest with BNV in OPExPARK to support the digital transformation (hereinafter, "DX") of operating rooms and a surgical education platform business for doctors (hereinafter, "this project"). OPExPARK was jointly established by DENSO and BNV.

In recent years, the need for DX has been rapidly increasing in the healthcare industry, as represented by the development of new medical services such as telemedicine and online medication guidance, and the utilization of medical data. In addition, with the decrease in the number of surgeries and restrictions on movement, delivering surgical education has been challenging, with young doctors having fewer opportunities to learn techniques from operations that senior doctors perform. Therefore, there is a growing expectation for an educational platform that allows doctors to learn surgical techniques online.

OPExPARK was established in 2019 with the support of BNV, utilizing the information integration platform "OPeLiNK" developed by DENSO with the support of the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. OPeLiNK is an information integration platform that constantly provides data gathered from each piece of equipment in the operating room, which is conventionally handled individually, with data in a consistent format so that it can be used by any device. By extracting and delivering accumulated equipment and biological data, information important to the decision-making of the surgeon can be visualized, and advanced tacit knowledge that was difficult to learn outside the operating room can be shared. OPExPARK promotes DX of surgical education through the delivery of educational contents that enables anyone to learn cutting-edge surgery anytime, anywhere. In addition, OPExPARK contributes to the improvement of the quality of medical care in Japan and overseas by transmitting surgical videos and data acquired by OPELiNK in real time and by providing advice on diagnosis and surgery from remote locations.

Marubeni has strengthened and expanded its IT consulting services business and cloud integration business to support and promote DX for customers and partners. By investing in this project and utilizing its cultivated know-how of DX support and promotion, support for IT fields (including the cloud), and cooperation with other businesses, Marubeni will contribute to the expansion of OPExPARK's services from DX in operating rooms and surgical education to DX in hospitals. By acquiring knowledge, networks, and business know-how in the healthcare industry through participation in this project, Marubeni aims to expand business in the digital health industry by promoting DX and developing new services in the field of drug discovery and clinical trial support in the future.

Since 2018, BNV has been involved in the establishment of OPExPARK (with carve-out support from DENSO) and support for its business growth. In establishing the company, BNV developed initial business strategies, business plans, and support for management team organization through "BRAVE", an acceleration program provided by BNV. After the company's establishment, BNV has been involved in continuous investment, recruitment, business development, and business growth support.

From 2014 to 2019, DENSO developed OPeLiNK and has been developing businesses that raise the medical level in emerging countries by utilizing the surgical information acquired through OPeLiNK. Even after OPExPARK's founding, DENSO has continued to acquire know-how in the digital twin business, support OPExPARK through joint research, and dispatch both technical and sales employees to the company.

Through this agreement and this project, Marubeni, OPExPARK, BNV, and DENSO will promote DX in the healthcare industry and contribute to the improvement of medical quality.

About Marubeni:

Name:		Marubeni Corporation
Head Office:		4-2, Ohtemachi 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8088, Japan
Established:		December 1, 1949
Representative:		Masumi Kakinoki
Main Business:		Marubeni Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries use their broad business networks, both within Japan and overseas, to conduct importing and exporting (including third country trading), as well as domestic business, encompassing a diverse range of business activities across wide-ranging fields including lifestyle, ICT & real estate business, forest products, food, agri business, chemicals, energy, metals & mineral resources, power business, infrastructure project, aerospace & ship, finance & leasing business, construction, industrial machinery & mobility, and next generation business development. Additionally, the Marubeni Group offers a variety of services, makes internal and external investments, and is involved in resource development throughout all of the above industries.
Website:		https://www.marubeni.com/en/

About OPExPARK:

Name:		OPExPARK Inc.
Head Office:		Shinagawa ku, Higashi Shinagawa 2-2-8, Sphere Tower Tennozu CW 2F, Tokyo, 140-0002, JAPAN
Established:		21th June 2019
Representative:		Yasunori HONDA, M.D.
Main Business:		Development and sales of the Integrated Surgical Information System Production and distribution of surgical educational contents for doctors
Website:		https://www.opexpark.co.jp/en/

About BNV:

Name:		Beyond Next Ventures Inc.
Head Office:		MFPR Nihonbashi Honcho Building 3F. 3-7-2 Nihonbashi-honcho. Chuo-ku. Tokyo. 103-0023. Japan
Established:		August 12. 2014
Representative:		Tsuyoshi Ito
Main Business:		BNV is a venture capital (VC) and an accelerator that discovers innovative technologiesin universities and companies and challenges social implementation with researchers and entrepreneurs. Specific areas: Investments in startups with approximately 22 billion yen, operation of "BRAVE" (an acceleration program to support the commercialization of technology seeds), the generation and development of management personnel in R&D-type startups, and the operation of share-type wet labs for bio-ventures.
Website:		https://beyondnextventures.com/

About DENSO:

Name:		DENSO CORPORATION
Head Office:		1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya, Aichi 448-8661, Japan
Established:		Dec. 16, 1949
Representative:		Koji Arima
Main Business:		DENSO is a global manufacturer of automotive components offering advanced automotive technologies, systems and products. Under the slogan of "Bringing hope for the future for our planet, society and all people", DENSO's six core businesses open up the future of cars and create value that contributes to the environment and peace of mind. The pillars of DENSO's business activities are thermal systems, powertrain systems, electrification systems, mobility systems, sensing systems and semiconductors, and non-in-vehicle businesses (FA, agriculture, etc.).
Website:		https://www.denso.com/global/en/