We create new values
in life science research and medical practice.
Chikara Takauo
Corporate Officer, PHC Holdings Corporation
Director of Biomedical Division, PHC Corporation
Message
The Biomedical Division of PHC Corporation entered the life science field in 1966 with the sale of medical refrigerators designed and developed for the purpose of storing pharmaceuticals.
By providing high-quality and highly reliable products and services, we are working to realize the division’s mission of “creating new value in life sciences and medicine and contributing to the creation of a healthy and prosperous society.”
For the 30 years since I joined Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics Co., Ltd. the predecessor of PHC Corporation, I have engaged primarily in technology and production engineering. I have always believed our company is “technology-driven” and would not grow without new products. The Biomedical Division is committed to developing attractive new products moving forward. We will also contribute to the therapeutic manufacturing process for cell and gene therapy (CGT) by developing and producing new products leveraging our sensor technology accumulated through the development of our blood glucose meters and other products.
Main Customers
- Pharmaceutical and biotech companies
- Hospitals/clinics
- Research institutions/universities
- Dispensing pharmacies
Overview
The Biomedical Division primarily provides products and services to medical institutions, universities, and pharmaceutical companies, including solutions for sample storage, cell culture, maintaining a sterile research environment, and research and development for cell and gene therapy. We provide innovative equipment and services needed for scientific research around the world.
The predecessor of this business was Sanyo Electric's Biomedical Division, which joined PHC Group in 2012 when Sanyo Electric was integrated into Panasonic Corporation. The manufacturing strengths of both companies have since fused and become even stronger together.
Our products, which are based on sophisticated designs that pursue efficiency and ease of use, feature advanced technology, high quality and reliability, and excellent performance and energy efficiency.
We will continue to be a research partner in the life science field with our cutting-edge products and services.
Strengths
- Products with industry-leading quality and energy-saving performance
Ultra-low temperature freezers have the industry’s highest level of temperature accuracy, and their energy efficiency is also world-class. Our CO2 incubators feature a unique contamination prevention function, and their quality, energy savings, and ease of use are highly rated.
- Manufacturing power that supports high-quality products
In the welding process, which requires concentration and precision craftsmanship, we strive to maximize the performance of each welder. Our operations team has the deep knowledge necessary to support high-quality manufacturing, enhanced by an on-site training system within the factory that enables us to further build our expertise.
- High market share and customer reach
Our mainstay ultra-low temperature freezers and CO2 incubators have the number-one market share in Japan and the number-two market share globally. Leveraging this position and the trusted relationships we have built with customers, we will continue to develop new products and services in new areas.
What’s new
The Biomedical Division has been promoting a cross-functional team (CFT) improvement activity called the Achieving Biomedical’s Cost Down (ABCD) Project since FY2022.
Over the past two years, we have implemented approximately 150 improvements by forming small teams across divisions to identify opportunities to improve.
An award system is in place for particularly significant improvements that contribute to our business unit, providing an incentive for employees to take on new challenges.
In addition, improvement activities often include themes such as appropriate use of raw materials, power savings for facilities, reduction of packaging materials, and streamlining logistics.
We renamed this initiative the ABCD+ESG Project in FY2024 to reflect its contribution to ESG strategy and re-launched it as a cross-divisional activity for sustainability, not just a profitable contribution to the company. (As of March 2024)
Deputy General Manager, Procurement Department,
Biomedical Division, PHC CorporationMasashi Desaki
Employee Voices
This fiscal year, we will enter the field of cell and gene therapy (CGT). We were proud to launch the Live Cell Metabolic Analyzer (LiCellMo) with the support of many people over the last six years. After global testing, many researchers have provided high praise for the instrument, which is capable of continuously monitoring changes in cell metabolism, without interrupting an experiment. Following the launch of LiCellMo, which can be used for basic CGT research and process development, we will seek to further contribute to the production of CGT drugs. CGT is a game-changing field that contributes to treating diseases previously hard to cure, such as cancer and rare diseases. We take great pride in contributing to society through this technology and will seek to grow our impact by mobilizing all of the Biomedical Division's strengths.
PHC North America CGT Team in
Wood Dale, Illinois, USA.
Main Products/Services
- Ultra-Low Temperature Freezer
This product uses highly efficient refrigerant, heat exchangers, and insulation technology to achieve world-class energy-saving performance, and is equipped with two independent refrigeration circuits that maintain the temperature at minus 70℃. The ULT freezer provides safe and secure storage.
- CO2 Incubator
Industry-leading products featuring hydrogen peroxide technology that significantly shortens decontamination time, copper alloy stainless steel that helps prevent contamination while culturing without interrupting customer research, and UV sterilization technology.
- Pharmacy Solutions
Equipment, including an automatic tablet counting and packaging system, that meticulously supports operations from dispensing to administration in pharmacies and hospitals, using automation technology that enables high-speed, accurate, and stable operation and human error prevention.
- Food Catering Solution
The Delicart, which contributes to the proper temperature of meals at medical facilities, supports safe and efficient meal delivery with advanced functions such as power assist.
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Ultra-Low Temperature Freezer
Long-term stable storage of specimens with highly accurate temperature control.
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CO2 Incubator
Provides an optimal culture environment to improve cell culture productivity.
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Medicinal Cold Storage
Equipped with natural refrigerant and inverter-controlled compressor, providing significant energy savings.
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Wireless Monitoring System
Stores internal temperature data on the cloud and centrally manages operating status in real time.
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Automatic Tablet Packaging Machine
Automates the counting, dispensing, and packaging of prescription drugs. Contributes to improving pharmacist work efficiency and reducing dispensing errors.
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Delicart
Heat and cold insulation function and power assist driving function. Reduces the burden of serving food.
* In-house research
PHCbi（Biomedical Division）
The Biomedical Division seeks to improve profitability by enhancing product competitiveness in our Foundation Areas, where it provides life science equipment such as ultra-low temperature freezers and pharmaceutical refrigerators. Meanwhile, research and development of new therapies and cutting-edge technologies, such as cell and gene therapy (CGT), mRNA medicine, and nucleic acid medicine, are active and overall they seem to grow double-digit annually. The Biomedical Division defines CGT as a Growth Area and will accelerate research, development, and launch of products that contribute to improving manufacturing QCD.
[Foundation Areas]
For high-value-added products such as ULT freezers and CO2 incubators, we will advance the development of new products to differentiate us from our competitors. As for other products, we will leverage our Indonesian manufacturing base to enhance price competitiveness through more efficient development, design, and manufacturing operations.
[Growth Areas]
We will focus on the field of CGT. In cell culture, cell metabolites are especially important indicators in determining the health of cells. Previously, it was difficult to constantly monitor the state of the cells due to manual, intermittent measurement of metabolites. Our new Live Cell Metabolic Analyzer (LiCellMo), which applies technology for quantifying biological compounds that we have cultivated through our blood glucose monitoring systems, can continuously measure cell metabolism and share data about the state of cells in real time. This technology allows us to gain a new level of knowledge unobtainable through conventional methods, and through this knowledge, we can contribute to the reliable and stable production of therapeutic cells.