#Japan #Tokyo #ToMMo #NTT Precision Medicine #JPP

ToMMo Symposium: Shaping the Future of Biobanks

On July 14, 2025, the Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo) hosted the symposium titled "Connecting and Expanding: The Future Created by Biobanks" at the Trust City Conference in Marunouchi, Tokyo. This significant event brought together stakeholders from across the nation, including biobank representatives and academic and industrial leaders, to discuss the current status and future perspectives of biobanks and the challenges surrounding data utilization in terms of regulation, technology, and ethics.

The symposium, which adopted a hybrid format, saw over 100 participants in person and more than 300 attendees joining online, making it a highly successful gathering.

Keynote Session by NTT Precision Medicine

Masaki Tabata, Executive Director of Data Consultation Division at NTT Precision Medicine, participated in a session titled "Anticipations from Various Fields." During his presentation, he discussed the company's initiatives regarding genomic data utilization and shared a vision for future collaboration with ToMMo. An article covering the entire event is available here.

Presentation Overview

Tabata's talk was titled "Expectations for Value Creation of ToMMo Big Data Driven by Data Utilization Platforms." He introduced use cases made possible by the integration of the Japan Precision Medicine Platform (JPP) developed and operated by his company with ToMMo's extensive and high-quality genomic and real-world data.

The Role of JPP in Next-Generation Genomic Medicine

• - JPP, based on the Trusted Research Environment (TRE), allows multiple medical institutions and biobanks to collaborate safely and efficiently in data utilization.
• - By employing a federation analysis model, it enables data integration and analysis across facilities while ensuring personal information protection.

Collaboration with ToMMo

• - Since March 2025, NTT Precision Medicine has been conducting collaborative work to analytically validate ToMMo's 15,000 genomic datasets along with the accompanying real-world data on the BC Platforms' "BC|INSIGHT" platform.
• - Looking ahead, there are plans to expand to 100,000 to 200,000 samples while focusing on creating technical validations and use cases intended for both domestic and international applications.

Potential Use Cases

1. Analyzing the correlation between drug efficacy and side effects by stratifying data from whole genomes, electronic medical records, and prescription information, thereby contributing to personalized medicine.
2. Conducting preclinical predictive research to detect pathological changes early and formulate preventive measures using genomic information and health examination data.
3. Realizing safe collaborative comparative studies and federated model analysis with other biobanks using multi-site and multi-ethnic data.

Data Governance and Social Implementation

Tabata also highlighted the need for governance structures and ethical considerations necessary for the international utilization of genomic data. He stressed the importance of secure analysis environments (TRE) and the establishment of infrastructure while keeping global regulatory frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA) in mind, advocating for the formation of rules through collaboration between the public and private sectors and academic institutions.

Future Prospects

Through his presentation, the shared approach to maximizing the social value of ToMMo's high-precision data and contributing to research and development in next-generation medicine was clearly delineated. NTT Precision Medicine will continue to partner with ToMMo and related organizations to promote the ethical and secure use of medical data. For more information on the entirety of the ToMMo event, you may refer to the link for the comprehensive report here.