Ubie Inc., a Japan-based startup, has signed a comprehensive collaboration agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. to promote digital transformation, which aims to guide people to appropriate medical care for rare diseases and gastrointestinal diseases.

Since April 2021, Ubie and Takeda Pharmaceutical have been promoting digital transformation for the early detection of diseases and guidance for appropriate medical examinations using Ubie Symptom Checker, a service for general public with disease concerns, and Ubie Patient Intake Form, a service for medical institutions. A prime example of this collaboration is the rare disease called hereditary angioedema (HAE).

HAE is a rare genetic disorder that causes recurrent episodes of edema in various parts of the body, including the abdomen, face, feet, genitals, hands, and throat. It is said that it takes an average of 13.8 years from the first attack to definitive diagnosis in Japan, which is a large gap compared to the reported average of 8.3 years in the United States and 8.5 years in Europe.

The scope of the collaboration will be expanded around rare diseases, where early detection is an issue, and new initiatives will be launched in gastrointestinal diseases, where it is believed that many potential patients have symptoms but do not seek medical treatment attention. In addition, to provide more value to patients and physicians from various perspectives, Ubie is developing additional functions on top of the current services and will seek to collaborate with Takeda on IT systems and data.