About Us

Message

Our mission is saving
women and their families
from breast cancer.

I was motivated to start this company when, as a high school student, I lost my mother to cancer. My mother unexpectedly suffered from a highly malignant brain tumor which affects only 1 out of 100,000 people. The extremely low 5 year survival rate of this type of cancer saw her pass away at the age of 46 after battling the disease for a year and a half.

Even back then, I knew that the survival rate of the disease was low, but we still tried various treatments. As my mother’s treatment progressed, she lost weight, lost her hair, and did not want to go out anymore. This fact that we lost her as a family member deeply changed my family. Because of this experience, I wanted to spare others from having to go through the same kind of experiences as I did. This spirit is what led to me start my own business. However, watching my mother live almost exactly the length of time the doctor initially stated led to me realize the limitations of current medical treatment. As a result, I decided on a field other than medicine after graduating from high school.

Not that long ago I heard about ultrasonic CT techniques from my husband, who is studying medical ultrasound at the University of Tokyo. While talking about the concept of breast cancer examination and diagnostic devices, we realized that, unlike many other cancers, breast cancer affects a larger percentage of younger adults. If the cancer is found at an early stage, the survival rate is actually quite high, and I realized that the earlier we could detect breast cancer, the further we could reduce the mortality rate and shorten the treatment period, unlike the disease which affected my mother.

Breast cancer is a curable disease now. Their 30s, 40s, and 50s are times in women’s lives when they have many choices and opportunities, such as a career, romance, marriage, childbirth, and child rearing. With our device, I hope to give affected women a chance to live as well as they did before being affected by cancer, because no woman should have to miss out on the great opportunities of life.

CEO

Shiho Azuma

Company Profile

Name of companyLily MedTech Inc.
EstablishedMay 9, 2016
CapitalJPY 2181.63 million (as of January, 2023)
Description of businessDevelopment of medical devices and AI
LocationEntrepreneur Lab at the University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8485
Email addressinfo@lilymedtech.com
saiyou@lilymedtech.com(Careers)

Executives

CEO

Shiho Azuma

I was motivated to start this company when, as a high school student, I lost my mother to cancer. My mother unexpectedly suffered from a highly malignant brain tumor which affects only 1 out of 100,000 people. The extremely low 5 year survival rate of this type of cancer saw her pass away at the age of 46 after battling the disease for a year and a half.

Even back then, I knew that the survival rate of the disease was low, but we still tried various treatments. As my mother’s treatment progressed, she lost weight, lost her hair, and did not want to go out anymore. This fact that we lost her as a family member deeply changed my family. Because of this experience, I wanted to spare others from having to go through the same kind of experiences as I did. This spirit is what led to me start my own business. However, watching my mother live almost exactly the length of time the doctor initially stated led to me realize the limitations of current medical treatment. As a result, I decided on a field other than medicine after graduating from high school.

Not that long ago I heard about ultrasonic CT techniques from my husband, who is studying medical ultrasound at the University of Tokyo. While talking about the concept of breast cancer examination and diagnostic devices, we realized that, unlike many other cancers, breast cancer affects a larger percentage of younger adults. If the cancer is found at an early stage, the survival rate is actually quite high, and I realized that the earlier we could detect breast cancer, the further we could reduce the mortality rate and shorten the treatment period, unlike the disease which affected my mother.

Breast cancer is a curable disease now. Their 30s, 40s, and 50s are times in women’s lives when they have many choices and opportunities, such as a career, romance, marriage, childbirth, and child rearing. With our device, I hope to give affected women a chance to live as well as they did before being affected by cancer, because no woman should have to miss out on the great opportunities of life.

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CTO

Takashi Azuma

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Our History

March 2015Received the Award of Excellence at the NCC Venture Grand Prix 2015 hosted by Nissei Capital Co., Ltd.
November 2015Completion of the first prototype unit at Azuma Laboratory, the University of Tokyo.
March 2016Adopted as NEDO STS-subsidized project.
May 2016Founding and Establishment of company. Joint research agreement was concluded with the University of Tokyo.
October 2016Completion of the second prototype unit.
November 2016Started clinical research at the Tsukuba International Breast Clinic.
December 2016Started clinical research at the University of Tokyo Hospital.
August 2017Received University Venture Recognition 2017 Early Edge Prize at Innovation Japan 2017
October 2017Selected to be AMED-subsidized Medical device development promotion research project.
February 2018Selected as Next generation innovative creation project 2020 subsidized project by the Tokyo Metropolitan Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center
March 2018Raised 350 million JPY in Series A funding.
December 2018Selected for University-led venture support business by Bunkyo-City.
June 2019Selected as one of 49 new “J-Startup”.
September 2019Raised 930 million JPY in Series B funding.
February 2020Awarded “The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency Secretary Award” at Japan Venture Awards 2020
November 2021Raised 790 million JPY in Series C funding.