NEWS RELEASE（Detail）

February 13, 2023
EPS Corporation

EPS will support administrative side of MHLW’s efforts to promote PHRs and enhance the health of Japanese citizens

EPS Corporation (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Akira SASA; hereinafter “EPS”), a leading pharmaceutical development support company, announces that it has concluded a contract with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to develop the operating environment and conduct studies related to the Personal Health Record (PHR) program being promoted by the MHLW.

As Japan’s birthrate declines, resulting in an increasingly aging society with fewer children and a “super-aged” population, efforts to extend healthy life expectancy are imperative. PHR systems, which contain health-related personal information and allow individuals and their families to accurately ascertain the results of their health examinations, medication history, etc., are becoming rapidly adopted around the world, and such systems are anticipated to play a key role in improving the health of Japan’s population.

The EPS Group is working toward developing “a New EPS”, including conducting a management buyout (MBO) in 2021. We are also working to expand our business into new areas with the aim of creating healthier and more fulfilling lives for people through our specialized services. As part of this effort, this contract will support the utilization of PHRs to promote Japan's public health spearheaded by the MHLW.

Overview of the Business

The MHLW aims to establish an infrastructure that allows individuals to access to information on public health examinations, etc. they received throughout their lifetime via the Mynaportal (Individual Number Portal) and other platforms. Under the agreement, EPS Corporation will revise the standard format for linking information on municipal health checkups (e.g., cancer screening) to data servers (municipal intermediate servers) linked to Mynaportal and conduct studies on the scope of impact of the revision, reporting to the MHLW. In addition, we will provide administrative support to the MHLW in its efforts to promote PHRs.

EPS’s Future Vision

We envision that enabling people and patients to utilize their own health and medical information will help advance health awareness, including preventive measures against illness and pre-symptomatic disease. Furthermore, we believe that sharing personal information with doctors and other medical practitioners with the consent of the individual will enable people to enjoy better healthcare and nursing care irrespective of age, gender, disability status, and other factors.

To this end, beginning with this project, we will actively engage in healthcare businesses outside our traditional domain of drug development, while working to support community medicine and health promotion, aiming to “foster healthy and fulfilling lives for all people”.
We will also utilize the insights gained through these efforts to improve drug development efficiency and promote digital transformation, as well as applying these findings to the healthcare field in general, in order to continue to make significant contributions to Japan's medical and pharmaceutical development.

About EPS Corporation

EPS launched its business in 1991 as a CRO^*1 to comprehensively support clinical studies with the focus on clinical trials and PMS^*2. The company proposes new models to satisfy customers’ needs by leveraging its data science expertise and digital technology cultivated through its extensive track record. These proposals are founded in its Trial GATE concept, which acts as the gateway for all promotion functions of clinical trials.

• *1　CRO：Contract Research Organization
• *2　PMS：Post Marketing Surveillance