A machine-translated English version of this article is provided.
On July 4, 2025 (Friday), the 10th Clinical Biobank Symposium was held at Keio University Hiyoshi Campus under the theme “Exploring the Role of Biobanks in the New Phase of Genomic Medicine.”
This annual symposium serves as a forum to discuss the latest developments in accelerating medical research using clinical biobanks. Marking its 10th edition, this year's event focused on real-world data (RWD) and ensuring the reliability of medical data.
Researchers and companies from both Japan and abroad gathered to discuss challenges and opportunities in data utilization, and various initiatives aimed at advancing precision medicine in Japan were introduced.
The event attracted a large number of participants, including representatives from medical institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and government agencies, fostering vibrant discussions and networking.
NTT Precision Medicine also hosted a “Sweets Seminar” to showcase its initiatives that are paving the way for the future of medical data utilization.
Sweets Seminar
"Enabling Multi-institutional Analysis of Real-World Data: Japan Precision-medicine Platform"
Date & Time: Friday, July 4, 2025, 16:20–17:00
Chair: Professor Hiroshi Nishihara (Keio University School of Medicine, Cancer Genomic Medicine Center)
Speakers:
· Katsuro Inaka (NTT Precision Medicine Corporation)
· Dr. Masafumi Okada (Prime Research Institute for Medical RWD, Inc.)
· Itsutaro Imahori, CFA (BC Platforms)
The seminar began with an introduction by Professor Nishihara, who spoke about the potential of new frameworks for medical data distribution and introduced each of the speakers, leading into their respective presentations.
"Overview and Objectives of the Japan Precision Medicine Platform (JPP)"
Mr. Inaka presented the vision and technical framework of JPP, which aims to unlock the vast potential of medical data—of which approximately 95% remains underutilized.
JPP provides a secure research environment by integrating Trusted Research Environment (TRE) frameworks with a federated analysis model.
The presentation showcased several use cases, such as integrating electronic medical records (EMRs), health checkup data, and claims data across multiple institutions. JPP is positioned to support a wide range of research needs, from drug discovery to cohort analysis of rare diseases.
"Challenges in Medical Data Utilization and the Importance of Trusted Research Environments (TREs)"
Dr. Okada highlighted structural limitations and data deficiencies in EMRs and claims data and discussed the critical importance of data quality in medical research.
He emphasized the role of TREs and federated analysis in securely utilizing patient-level data without anonymization.
By maintaining sensitive data within each institution and allowing external researchers to conduct analyses via virtual environments, these frameworks achieve both privacy protection and advanced research capabilities.
"Use Cases for the AI Era and Deployment of TREs"
Mr. Imahori introduced BC Platforms’ global-scale data platform technologies and discussed the evolution of RWD utilization in the AI era.
He presented real-world use cases from national precision medicine projects in the UK (NHS), Singapore, and European cancer research initiatives, illustrating how the application of AI and large language models (LLMs) is accelerating medical research and drug development.
In Japan, collaborative efforts with the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) were also highlighted, demonstrating how JPP's integration with BC Platforms is contributing to global innovation in healthcare.
This seminar offered valuable insights into the potential of JPP to become the standard model for medical data utilization in Japan. Numerous real-world implementation examples were shared, including global collaborations with BC Platforms, attracting high interest from the audience.
NTT Precision Medicine will continue working in partnership with medical institutions, industry, and government to build a secure and practical foundation for data-driven precision medicine in Japan.