New company will deliver blood tests based on large-scale protein measurements to people in Japan

BOULDER, Colo., July 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SomaLogic, Inc. and NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd. of Japan, a subsidiary of NEC Corporation, announced today the establishment of FonesLife Corporation, a new Tokyo-based company that will bring a series of new clinical health management tests based on SomaLogic’s proprietary protein-measurement technology to the Japanese people. NEC Solution Innovators has been collaborating with leading doctors, universities and research institutes in Japan to validate SomaLogic’s “SomaSignal™ tests” in Japanese populations and will partner with SomaLogic to deliver those tests — and codevelop new ones — for both Japanese and global healthcare markets.

SomaSignal™ tests were first made available to patients and providers in a limited number of US practices last year and are built on SomaLogic’s SomaScan® Platform, which measures thousands of different proteins in a small blood sample. Applying sophisticated computer algorithms identifies specific protein patterns that reflect a person’s current health, future disease risk and the impact of modifying behavior or other interventions. The SomaSignal™ tests for precise cardiovascular disease risk prediction are of particular interest in Japan, which has a high incidence of stroke.

Under the terms of an expanded partnership agreement between SomaLogic and NEC Solution Innovators, FonesLife will be the exclusive provider of SomaLogic’s growing number of clinical tests in Japan. Combining SomaLogic’s unique ability to profile human proteins at scale with NEC’s advanced artificial intelligence and information technologies is expected to lead to additional breakthrough diagnostic and prognostic tests that will be codeveloped for markets around the world.

“The name ‘FonesLife’ refers to the ‘voice of each person's life’," said Naoto Egawa, the new chief executive officer of FonesLife, at a virtual press conference held earlier today. “We believe that with SomaLogic, we can deliver precise health information that will motivate each person to make positive behavioral changes. This is the key to improving the quality of life for everyone in Japan’s super-aged society.”

“Thanks to the vision of NEC Solution Innovators, the people of Japan are going to be the first beneficiaries of our transformative technology on a large scale, and we could not be happier,” said Roy Smythe, MD, chief executive officer of SomaLogic. “Japan will again be an example to the world of how to leverage new technology to make life better — in this case maximizing health on a large scale, particularly in an aging population.”

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About SomaLogic
SomaLogic seeks to deliver precise, meaningful, and actionable health-management information that empowers individuals worldwide to continuously optimize their personal health and wellness throughout their lives. This essential information, to be provided through a global network of partners and users, is derived from SomaLogic’s precise, proprietary, and personalized measurement of important changes in an individual’s proteins over time. For more information, visit www.somalogic.com and follow @somalogic on Twitter.

SomaSignal™ tests are developed and their performance characteristics determined by SomaLogic, Inc. They have not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Laura Mizoue
SomaLogic, Inc.
720-417-7509
lmizoue@somalogic.com