Daiichi Pharm, Fujitsu in genetic data tie-up

TOKYO: Japanese drug maker Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and electronics

manufacturer Fujitsu Ltd. said on Monday they had agreed to jointly develop

medical products using genetic data.

Under the five-year project, the two firms and unlisted Japanese

biotechnology start-up Celestar Lexico-Sciences Inc., owned 20 per cent by

Fujitsu, will use a computer program they developed to analyze genetic

functions.

Daiichi Pharmaceutical plans to invest 15 billion yen ($138 million) over the

next five years.

The firms aim to find substances effective in fighting diseases, including

cancer, dementia and infectious diseases by combining Fujitsu's information

technology and Daiichi's ability to develop medicine, the companies said.

The plan reflected accelerating cooperation between such companies to sort

huge amounts of genetic data, they said.

"We are confident the joint research will bear fruit not only in the

area of manufacturing new medicine, but also a wider range of businesses such as

treatment of genes," the companies said in a statement.

The news attracted buying in Daiichi Pharm on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Its

shares ended the morning 3.58 per cent higher at 2,895 yen. Fujitsu inched up

0.15 per cent to 1,976 yen.

(C) Reuters Limited 2000.