日经亚洲独家：三井物产拟2028年前建成覆盖100万亚洲患者的匿名癌症临床数据网络，联合Oncoshot与IHH旗下20余家医院，医疗业务瞄准2030年600亿日元营业利润

TOKYO -- Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. is building a medical data network across Asia to help pharmaceutical companies worldwide find patients for clinical trials in new drug development.
The company plans to assemble a network of anonymized data from 1 million patients in Japan and other Asian countries by 2028, using patient data from hospital groups in its portfolio.
Asia has particularly high concentrations of stomach and liver cancer, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Cancer patients' status can change rapidly, making it hard to find patients that fit requirements for clinical trials in drug development.
The absence of an easy-to-use patient database for Asia adds to the difficulty of clinical trials and other research by major drugmakers in the U.S. and Europe.
The lack of a data network is one factor behind "drug lag" and "drug loss," which results in drug approvals for Japan being delayed or the drug remaining unapproved in the country because patients cannot be found quickly for trials. Other Asian countries including Indonesia and Malaysia also face this issue.
Mitsui is collaborating with Singapore-based IT startup Oncoshot on creating the data network. The plan is to use artificial intelligence to organize patient data in different formats from hospitals and clinics. Data on patient status, genetics and treatment history will be anonymized and made searchable by outside parties.
The effort will begin with over 20 medical facilities in Asia, many of them under Malaysia's IHH Healthcare -- the largest hospital operator in Southeast Asia -- in which Mitsui has a 30% stake. Mitsui has kicked off operation of the data network at around 100,000 patients, and will continue to expand the number of participating institutions in Asia through its sales network.
Mitsui has begun negotiations with major Japanese medical and research institutions as well, with some expected to be on board by 2028. This is aimed at raising the chances of Japanese patients taking part in clinical trials through the data network, which could shorten the time to approval in the country, addressing drug loss and drug lag.
The trading house will look into specific revenue models going forward. Under one potential model, the company would receive results-based compensation for proposals to support drug research using data.
Some cancer drugs bring in over 1 trillion yen ($6.5 billion) in revenue annually. For a pharmaceutical company, speeding up approval by even a few months could mean adding tens of billions of yen.
Mitsui will work with advanced research institutions in the U.S. as well, including sharing Asia patient data with doctors and researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
The trading house is targeting 60 billion yen in operating profit from its healthcare business by around 2030, around three times its level for the fiscal year through March 2026. It may also consider mergers and acquisitions involving companies with ties to pharmaceutical companies, including those in clinical research and drug discovery support.
Mitsui is expected to invest over 100 billion yen in the healthcare sector.