TOKYO, July 11, 2011—Canon Inc. ("Canon"; President and COO: Tsuneji Uchida; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan) announced today that it has entered into a partnership agreement with MEDIAN Technologies S.A. ("MEDIAN Technologies"; Chairman and CEO: Fredrik Brag; Headquarters: Valbonne, France) targeting the development of IT solutions for hospitals. To facilitate the partnership, Canon Inc. will acquire a 15% stake in MEDIAN Technologies, amounting to a total investment of approximately € 8.6 million.
In 2011 Canon launched Phase IV of its Excellent Global Corporation Plan, the latest five-year phase of the company's long-term management initiative, during which Canon aims to join the ranks of the world's top 100 companies in terms of all major management indicators while maintaining its high profitability. As one of the key strategies of Phase IV, the company will develop new business through globalized diversification and establish the Three Regional Headquarters management system.
Through the capital tie-up with MEDIAN Technologies, which provides medical IT solutions centered on CT imaging, Canon will be able to make use of MEDIAN Technologies's Computer Aided Diagnosis / Detection (CAD) Platform, a key technology, while also engaging in the joint development of new CAD functionality.
With advances in the digitization of medical imaging, such as CTs and MRIs, expectations are high for the contributions that IT can offer, not only in managing such images, but also in terms of analysis and secondary usage. MEDIAN Technologies was early to develop image-diagnosis support solutions and services for anticancer agents for hospitals and in clinical trials, said to account for approximately half of all clinical testing, and these services are now being used by major pharmaceutical manufacturers. Canon, through the merging of its technology with Median Technologies's experience and proven track record, will actively carry out development with the aim of enhancing CAD technology and delivering IT solutions to hospitals globally.
Through the strategic joint development of CAD (CT: expansion of coverage to organs other than the lungs / MRI: the brain, etc.), Canon will not only work to enhance the technology, but also target synergies with its image-processing and other related imaging technologies. In addition, through the joint expansion of MEDIAN Technologies's accumulated clinical image and case database, the partnership aims to accelerate the development of products to meet the industry's clinical needs.
In addition to carrying out joint development of CAD technology, Canon will gain access to MEDIAN Technologies's medical imaging-related knowhow and a license to its CAD Platform. In the near future, through cooperation with major hospitals in Japan, the United States and Europe, Canon aims to enter the IT solutions business for hospitals through the introduction of cloud-based medical imaging management and related systems.
MEDIAN Technologies offers solutions and services for diagnosing and monitoring cancer patients. The company targets both the oncology clinical trials market (its prime market) and the patient care market.
