Developing Dementia Diagnostic Test Domestically in Japan with Retinal Imaging AI - Partnership Concluded with Canadian Optina Diagnostics to Build a Business in the Japanese Market

MONTREAL, Dec. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, "Marubeni") and Optina Diagnostics (hereinafter, "Optina") agreed to enter into a market development partnership to bring Optina's early dementia diagnosis platform to the Japanese market.

Optina, based in Montreal, Canada, is a world leader company in retinal imaging and artificial intelligence with a vision to change mindsets when it comes to brain health. Using its unique "Retinal Deep Phenotyping Platform", which applies Artificial Intelligence, Optina can better characterize patients suffering from memory loss, enabling the early detection of Alzheimer's disease and other causes of dementia.

It is estimated that 1 in 5 elderly Japanese people will develop dementia by 2025, with Alzheimer's disease implicated in two-thirds of these cases. This figure is expected to continue to grow as the problem of an increasingly aging population progresses in Japan. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. However, early detection of Alzheimer's disease is extremely important for patients as becoming aware of dementia at an early stage and making necessary lifestyle changes can delay progression of the disease. In this way, Optina's technology seeks to improve the quality of life (QOL) for patients with dementia.

The partnership between these two companies has come at the perfect time; Marubeni is currently accelerating its activities in utilizing AI technology in healthcare-related business, and Optina is currently aiming for early entry into the Japanese market. Marubeni will provide support in initiatives such as support for the application of the approval process with relevant authorities, and cooperation with opinion leaders in the dementia field in order to commercialize the Retinal Deep Phenotyping platform developed by Optina.

Marubeni and Optina will contribute to resolving issues connected to Japan's aging society, working to bring to market accurate, non-invasive optical tests to change the status quo and better understand the causes of memory loss.

About Marubeni
Marubeni is a major Japanese integrated trading and investment business conglomerate that handles products and provides services in a broad range of sectors. Marubeni is set on globally collaborating with technology-driven medical solution providers as well as savvy medical partners with our vision of building the digital healthcare platform for a comprehensive prophylaxis and diagnosis services using AI.
https://www.marubeni.com/en/

About OptinA
Optina Diagnostics is a Montreal based company focused on changing mindsets when it comes to brain health. Optina's first application which detects amyloid status, for the evaluation of adult patients with cognitive impairment, obtained FDA breakthrough device designation earlier this year. Optina is also developing a wide range of biomarkers. Through its unique Retinal Deep Phenotyping platform, Optina challenges the status quo by providing an accurate, simple, and non-invasive optical test to understand the sources of cognitive decline, empowering millions.
http://optinadx.com/

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SOURCE Optina Diagnostics