Life Science & Medical Technology

Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co. said Monday that it is developing a coronavirus vaccine with the help of insects and aiming to start clinical trials this year.

The coronavirus pandemic has thrust fresh attention onto the use of 3D printers as users try to find a low-cost and small-scale route to create much-needed supplies of face masks, face shields and even ventilators.

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 4519) announced that it is working to start a Phase III clinical trial in Japan with the humanized anti-human IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody, “Actemra® Intravenous Infusion 80 mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg” [generic name: tocilizumab (genetical recombination)] in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Japanese cosmetics and household goods companies as well as alcoholic beverage makers are moving to increase production of hand disinfectant in response to a request by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to help alleviate shortages caused by heavy demand due to the coronavirus.

Researchers are developing a medical software system that combines the use of artificial intelligence and an endoscope to help surgeons safely remove gallbladders, a common surgery in Japan.

Suntory Holdings has begun dangling annual salaries in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to lure technology talent for its digital transformation, as the Japanese beverage maker leverages data to move beyond the 20th-century model of mass production for mass consumption.

Japanese technology group NEC has used artificial intelligence to conduct a faster genetic decoding of the novel coronavirus, aiming to accelerate the development of a vaccine to quell the pandemic.

Japanese biotech company Takara Bio plans to mass produce novel coronavirus vaccinations as early as this year, President and CEO Koichi Nakao told Nikkei in an interview.

Yamashin-Filter, a Japanese manufacturer of filters for construction machinery, has developed a high performance replaceable face mask insert boasting extended particle-blocking performance and plans to ramp up mass production of its own mask next month as demand for protection soars with the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Japan will begin a clinical trial of a blood plasma treatment for coronavirus patients as early as this month, joining the U.S., Canada and China in experimenting with the century-old treatment.