Sysmex Wins the 14th Annual Merit Award from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry for Collaborative Achievement Between Industry, Academia and Government
Sysmex Corporation (HQ: Kobe, Japan; Chairman & CEO: Hisashi Ietsugu) has received the 14th Annual Merit Award from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry for Collaborative Achievement Between Industry, Academia and Government for the practical realization of a system for diagnosing hepatic fibrosis using glycosylation, developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, or AIST (Tsukuba HQ: Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan; President: Ryoji Chubachi).
The Annual Merit Award for Collaborative Achievement between Industry, Academia and Government was introduced in 2003 to recognize major success in industry–academia–government collaboration among companies, universities and public-sector research institutions successfully demonstrating examples of substantial contribution through the promotion of leading-edge initiatives to help promote further industry–academia–government collaboration in Japan. The award received by Sysmex was one of 12 awards bestowed in the current Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Awards, including the Prime Minister’s Award.
Sysmex has developed a reagent for testing the degree of hepatic fibrosis during blood testing, using a glycosylation marker1 developed in cooperation with AIST and building on the success of the NEDO projects,2 thereby achieving the world’s first practical realization of a system for diagnosing hepatic fibrosis using a glycosylation marker.
This technology enables clinical laboratories at medical and other institutions to determine the progression of hepatic fibrosis originating from viral hepatitis that brings on the progression from chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis of the liver and on to hepatic cell carcinoma. It also allows this measurement to be made more quickly than was possible with conventional technologies.
During the development process, AIST took charge of developing clinically useful glycosylation marker candidates for diagnosing hepatic fibrosis, while Sysmex developed an automated measurement system (HISCL™-Series automated immunoassay system and HISCL™ M2BPGi™ Assay Kit, a hepatic fibrosis test reagent) to be used as an alternative to lectin arrays3.
Overview of the 14th Annual Merit Award from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry for Collaborative Achievement Between Industry, Academia and Government
Received for: World’s first practical realization of a system for diagnosing hepatic fibrosis using glycosylation
Award recipients: Hisashi Narimatsu, Principal Research Manager, Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Atsushi Kuno, Chief Senior Researcher, Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Yoichi Takahama, Executive Vice President, Immunology & Chemistry Product Engineering Division, ICH Business Unit, Sysmex Corporation
Reason for award: AIST has a global lead in glycosylation research, and collaboration with Sysmex has resulted in the world’s first commercialization of this research. This development enables the status of the entire liver (such as oncogenic risk) to be determined through blood testing only, enabling same-day testing (within 20 minutes) of chronic hepatitis patients.
Sysmex plans to continue accelerating R&D conducted through industry–academia–government collaboration, thereby stepping up its efforts toward the practical realization of leading-edge technologies.
Related Links
Cabinet Office website (Japanese only):
http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/sangakukan/sangakukan2016/7_keisan.pdf
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry website (Japanese only):
http://www.meti.go.jp/press/2016/08/20160819002/20160819002.html
Practical application:
Health insurance coverage: http://www.sysmex.co.jp/en/corporate/news/2013/131226.html
14th Industry–Academia–Government Collaboration Meritorious Service Award ceremony
Terminology
1.Glycosylation marker:
The linked monosaccharides that link to the surface of a cell or protein in the blood, are sometimes described as “cell and protein costumes.” Their roles include the transmission of information specific to individual cells and intercellular communications. A glycosylation marker is a biomarker that targets structural changes in sugar changes present in glycoproteins.
2.NEDO projects:
As one of Japan’s largest public research and development management organizations, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) plays an important part in Japan’s economic and industrial policies. It has two basic missions: “addressing energy and global environmental problems” and “enhancing industrial technology.” The Medical Glycomics Project (fiscal 2006 through fiscal 2010), which contributed to the success of realizing the current reagent, employed basic technologies developed through the Glycogene Project (fiscal 2001 through fiscal 2003) and the Structural Glycomics Project (fiscal 2003 through fiscal 2005).
3.Lectin array:
The world’s first glycan profiling technology, possessed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
Information contained in the press release is current as of the date of the announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
