- For Print
- November 4, 2021
Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) announced today that it launches the “Open Network Lab BioHealth Dementia Innovation Challenge (Onlab Bio Dementia)”, a collaborative cultivation program jointly implemented with Digital Garage, Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, “DG”), with the aim of contributing to solving issues related to dementia and starts recruiting startups for teams to participate in the program. The program is designed to resolve various issues related to dementia with technology and science by promoting open innovation between startups and Eisai and DG, and to realize the Dementia Inclusive Society.
The program “Onlab Bio Dementia” calls for Japanese and global startups that wish to collaborate with Eisai and DG by utilizing their unique and outstanding technologies or services to solve issues related to dementia, such as brain health check and maintenance, disease awareness and testing, accurate diagnosis and confirming effectiveness of treatment (drug / non-drug), and providing care that contribute to the improvement of QOL (quality of life).
The program will help selected startups for the business growth related to dementia by combining Eisai and DG’s assets, including Eisai’s wealth of experience and knowledge in medicine creation activities and disease awareness activities in the field of dementia, DG’s business development track record and experience in the digital domain such as AI, blockchain, and digital health, and the management know-how and mentoring that DG has acquired through its efforts to provide business support to and invest in startups such as “Onlab”. In this program, Eisai and DG will implement the “Open Innovation Program” aiming to create consortium, business alliance, and investment by multiplying the technologies and services of startups with the resources of Eisai and DG, considering collaboration, and conducting demonstration experiments, etc. In addition, the “Accelerator Program” will provide mentoring by experts in various field to accelerate the business growth of startups in the seed and early stages.
Eisai has set its new medium-term business plan “EWAY Future & Beyond”, where the perspective will be shifted from that of patients to The People or each consumer. In “EWAY Future & Beyond”, with “empowering The People to realize their fullest life” as the vision, Eisai will utilize the latest digital technology such as AI and aim to remove the anxiety of “The People,” with delivering not only pharmaceutical products but also solutions to The People. For this, Eisai is progressing to build the Eisai Universal Platform (EUP) which delivers packaged solutions in addition to pharmaceutical products through synergies between the technologies of various external partners and its own R&D. In this program, which is a collaboration between Eisai and DG, Eisai will expand its contribution to “The People” based on EUP, with acquiring the opportunity for investment and collaboration in addition to building a new network with startups.
Media Inquiries:
Public Relations Department,
Eisai Co., Ltd.
+81-(0)3-3817-5120
[Notes to editors]
1. Outline of “Open Network Lab BioHealth Dementia Innovation Challenge(Onlab Bio Dementia)”
Eligible Candidates:
- Companies working to resolve issues relation to dementia; 1) Brain health check and maintaining brain performance in daily life, 2) Disease awareness / testing, 3) Accurate diagnosis / confirming treatment effects, 4) Treatment, 5) Care, and 6) other themes
- Companies with services, products, or ideas that can be expected to produce synergy with partner companies (Eisai and DG), and can positively consider capital alliances and business partnerships over the medium-to-long term with partners, etc.
- Companies that can devote resources to initiatives for co-creation with partner companies after being selected for the program
Support:
- Mentoring by a wide range of experts
- Support in specialized fields
- Provision of domestic and international network
Schedule:
Applications accepted: November 4 (Thursday) – December 27 (Monday) noon, 2021
Teams selected: Early February 2022
Program provided: Mid-February – Mid-May 2022
Program details and entry form
https://onlab.jp/programs/biohealth-dementia
Inquiries from startups
Onlab BioHealth Secretariat
2. About Digital Garage, Inc.
As a pioneer in the Internet industry, Digital Garage has evolved along with the growth of the Internet, creating and developing businesses with the corporate purpose of “Designing ‘new contexts’ for a sustainable society with technology.” Digital Garage operates - a payments business that provides one of the largest comprehensive payment platforms in Japan for pioneering Fintech companies, a marketing business that provides solutions integrating real and cyber space using data, an investment business that discovers and supports promising startups from around the world. Digital Garage also runs an open innovation R&D organization called DG Lab that creates new businesses using next-generation technologies such as blockchain, AI, and BioHealth. Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.