Japan to develop robot arm to test medication amid labor shortages

MORIOKA - Manufacturers and a pharmaceutical firm in Japan are set to collaborate in a project to develop robot arm equipment to test medication amid labor shortages.

Icomes Lab Co. a manufacturer of precision components with its subsidiary i-Motion Technology Co and Osaka-based Shionogi Pharma Co. will jointly develop the equipment with the IWate Prefecture company, Morioka and Icomes Lab Co. to develop the equipment. It is hoped that the robots will improve operations and streamline quality, and make up for labor shortage in the pharmaceutical industry.

In recent years, while there has been an increase in the retail prices of medicines, standards for quality control and product tests have apparently become increasingly rigorous. However, there is a shortage in human resources with specialized knowledge and skills, and reducing workloads has been a major issue in the industry.

The automated testing equipment, consisting of a small robot arm that is currently under research and development by Icomes Lab and a drug administration system made by I-Motion Technology and other components attached to the arm will be able to perform four stages of a process necessary for pharmaceutical product testing, including pouring in solvents and mixing.

Shionogi Pharma, which also has factories in the Kanegasaki prefecture of Iwate, is in charge of developing and assessing equipment design, as well as an expansion of business ahead of sales. About 300 million yen, or around $2.63 million, is set aside as development funds, and all three companies will complete the equipment in the next 2 years Keiji Katano expressed his hope for the endeavor, saying that it will solve social issues and also be related to the process of manufacturing Iwate-made products. Shionogi Pharma President Ryuichi Kume also expressed his enthusiasm by commenting, "With technology at the base, we'd like to support the future of health care and solve social issues." For this reason, we'd like to make this joint development project a success!