Report of the Study Group on Utilization of Big Data in the Medical and Health Fields vol.2
Masami Morita (Senior Researcher, Pharmaceutical and Industrial Policy Research Institute)
Masashi Suzuki (Senior Researcher, Pharmaceuticals and Industrial Policy Research Institute)
Kazuteru Sugiura (Senior Researcher, Pharmaceutical and Industrial Policy Research Institute)
(Published April 2017)
In the pharmaceutical industry, the future paradigm shift and direction in medicine and drug discovery in the near future is attracting attention through the utilization of big data in the medical health field. In July 2015, the Pharmaceutical Industry Policy Institute (Policy Research Institute) launched the "Study Group on the Utilization of Big Data in the Medical and Health Fields" to conduct research and studies to explore methods of utilization, issues, and solutions for big data in the medical and health fields.
The Study Group, with the Policy Research Institute as the main research body, has invited the participation of cooperating researchers from the Pharmaceutical Cooperative Association's Research and Development Committee, Drug Evaluation Committee, and Industrial Policy Committee, and has also invited observers from outside, mainly from IT-related companies, to conduct research and study based on the latest status of big data in the medical health field.
The second year of the study group, from July 2016 to March 2017, will be the first year of the study group's research and study. From July 2016 to March 2017, the scope was expanded to "Big Data" acquired by mobile health and wearable devices utilizing smartphones and tablets due to the development of IoT, with a focus on the spread of diverse health and medical Big Data and the technological innovations that are advancing it. In addition, we conducted research on EHRs and PHRs as platforms for utilizing clinical information, genomic/omics data, and IoT data, as well as mechanisms for their secondary use.
In addition, for the purpose of efficiently advancing the research and understanding, expert study sessions and information exchange meetings for members were held regularly, inviting lecturers from outside.
In this report, we report on these activities as well as discuss the challenges of infrastructure development in Japan and our expectations for the pharmaceutical industry.