Sony Creates Human Genome Research Company

Many technology corporations, in addition to the main business, are also conducting side activities, which, at times, seem very far from their main area. So, Google deals, for example, with the study of the moon, as well as the study of the main issues of gerontology . And Sony is now going to study the human genotype to form further areas of activity related to personalized medicine and healthcare.

Of course, no one will force electronic engineers working on smartphones, laptops or game consoles to do similar work. Instead, Sony forms a subsidiary company, which will deal with the above issues. The new company is called P5 Inc.

This company works in conjunction with M3, a commercial medical entity whose main stake is held by Sony. In addition, partners include Illumina, an American company manufacturing equipment to “decrypt” the genome.

The Japanese corporation itself is going to play the role of an “information platform” for ongoing research, providing genome analysis services for companies and research organizations. In addition, Sony will collect and process “genetic data”.

Sony believes that combining the decoding of the human genome and its medical data will effectively carry out work in the field of personalized medicine, when everyone will receive medical care, drugs and procedures that are suitable for him, and not someone else on the principle of “average temperature in the hospital. "

It is worth noting that the direction of medical research and commercial medicine is now extremely important for a Japanese company. Sony CEO Kaz Hirai recently announced plans to turn this line of business into one of the company's core businesses.

And the seriousness of intentions has already been supported by investments in the amount of 644 million US dollars - this is the amount needed to form a joint venture with Olympus to produce high-tech 3D and 4K endoscopes.

Via theverge