Yamaha Motor to Collaborate with Hubrecht Organoid Technology　Accelerating technology development in biomedical engineering

IWATA, March 1, 2019 - Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo:7272) has entered into a collaborative research project with Hubrecht Organoid Technology (HUB, the Netherlands), a leading organoid research center. Organoids are patient-derived cell cultures that mimic human organ function. The collaboration aims to accelerate technology development and jointly analyze business opportunities in this research field.

Organoids are in vitro adult stem cell-derived cell cultures whose structures are biologically similar to those of human organs. The organoids are used to study drug effects, diseases in organs, intraorgan cell-cell interactions, etc. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the organoid technology in Europe and the United States as the next generation patient-specific model for medical research such as cancer research.

HUB is a world leading research center established in 2013 by Hubrecht Institute, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and University Medical Center Utrecht, based on the proprietary Organoid Technology developed by Prof. Dr. Hans Clevers. HUB has been promoting medical research, drug development, and personalized medicine in cancer, cystic fibrosis, etc., using the Organoid Technology with leading academic centers and pharma industry.

This collaborative research is based on one of Yamaha Motor’s medium-to-long-term growth strategies, “Advancing Robotics”, announced in December 2018, and is part of the company’s active steps in the biomedical engineering field following its investment in a biotech venture firm Evec, Inc. announced last August. Through this collaborative research, Yamaha Motor will keep contributing to medical research and drug development by strengthening its cell-picking and image-processing technologies, which are the core features of cell handling device CELL HANDLER, and by advancing organoid research.

■HUB background

・　Organization name/establishment year：　Hubrecht Organoid Technology / 2013

・　Country：　The Netherlands

・　Research and activity fields：　Organoid technology applications, such as biobank, drug discovery & development, personalized medicine research

・　Web site：　 http://hub4organoids.eu/

■Cell picking & imaging system CELL HANDLER*

・　Product information：　 https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/hc/

*For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.