Sony Joins Illumina Inc. for New Genome Research Company

A new medical deal was recently struck between Sony Corp. and US-based Illumina Inc. creating a new company to collaborate on genome research. The initial aim will be to provide a genome analysis service but is hoped to evolve into being able to contribute to the provision of personalised medicine, which genome research is expected to play a larger part in the coming years.

This marks yet another joint effort between these companies which already work together in the genome research area.

Does this latest venture indicate the company that Sony Corp. wants to become?

Late last month Sony made the announcement of yet another medical move that will see the company take a deeper involvement in science. Sony Corp. and Illumina Inc. previously made ties in the genome research area in August 2013 that caters for drug companies in Japan.

I’m very excited by the potential of this collaboration to deliver new services and breakthroughs that bring us ever closer to the realization of the personalized medicine and healthcare era.

Tadashi Saito, Corporate Executive Officer, Executive Vice President, Officer in charge of Medical Business, Sony Corporation

Genome research analyzes human genetic data alongside other medical information to shed light on the origin of diseases thus leading to new medicines and treatments.

This new company will target research institutions and enterprises in Japan, offering a genome analysis service.

Sony’s Vision for the Future

In addition to last year’s Sony/Illumina collaboration, other medical arrangements include medical data transmission, surgical equipment medical device-making.

Tadashi Saito confirmed Sony’s determination for making the medical branch of the corporation a key future player:

At Sony, we are positioning the medical business as one of our key growth pillars.

Another company set to work with this new medical enterprise is M3 Inc. an affiliate company to Sony which provides medical information services to doctors over the Internet. Itaru Tanimura, Representative Director of M3, Inc. described a bounty of innovation, job-creation and life-changing developments in this area:

The Internet had major impact on our lives. Gene diagnosis and treatment will potentially have the same or even greater influence. The current status of the human genome industry is comparable to the Internet in the early 1990’s, when companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook had yet to emerge. Going forward, I expect companies and services of this magnitude to also appear in this industry.

A corporate strategy meeting held by Sony in May 2013 outlined its prioritised businesses and medical was one of them.

The medical division joins financial services as part of the new Sony. While smartphones and games consoles are proving lucrative areas for the Japanese corporation, other products have proved more volatile in recent years, particularly TV, PC and imaging.

Keeping Finances Stable

New directions will provide fresh sources of revenue, reduce reliance on electronics and if profitable, add to investor confidence. This builds on the success of the move into financial services which proved itself a steady source of profit earlier in the 2013 financial year.

The next financial quarterly results (and many more thereafter) will benefit from past investment in the gaming division. The past quarter covers the Christmas period – a crucial one in gaming. The entire outlook of the company will likely be lifted from recovered investment from the PlayStation 4 which required several years of discrete investment within the company.

We can expect further developments in this area and we will keep you updated on this.