Melody International, Inc.
Representative Director, CEO
Ms. Yuko Ogata

Melody International Inc. (Melody) is a Kagawa University venture company that aims to build and commercialize a perinatal telemedicine platform for the safety and security of pregnant women and their babies. Why did the company focus on the challenges in this field, and how were they able to obtain regulatory approval in the Philippines and promote local expansion despite the Corona disaster?

Convinced of the meaning of founding a company in perinatal care after seeing the field

In 2000, while working on the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Shikoku 4 Prefectures Electronic Medical Record Network Collaboration Project," he recognized the need for an electronic medical record for obstetrics, which had not existed before. However, the project ended after two years. Mr. Ogata's desire to "save pregnant women" strengthened, and he purchased a prototype electronic medical record from one of the participating companies and founded his first company in 2002. Through this electronic medical record project, he met Professor Emeritus Kazuhiro Hara of Kagawa University, the inventor of the basic principles of CTG, a delivery monitoring device that has become a global standard. Later, Professor Hara participated in the JICA project "Project for Improvement of Perinatal Deaths through Introduction of Mobile Fetal Heart Rate Monitor and Primary Obstetric Screening Diagnosis and Human Resource Development for Primary Medical Care in Emergency Situations to Prevent Maternal and Newborn Deaths in Thailand in collaboration with Chiang Mai University. Mr. Ogata also participated in the "Project to Improve Perinatal Deaths through the Introduction of a Mobile Fetal Heart Rate Monitor and Primary Obstetric Screening Diagnosis and Training of Primary Medical Personnel. Using a mobile fetal heart rate monitor, a demonstration experiment was conducted to share pregnancy screening results between a core hospital in central Chiang Mai, a provincial hospital, and a health center in a remote area. As a result, the health center was able to detect fetal abnormalities and transport the pregnant woman and her fetus to a higher-level hospital that could handle the situation. Mr. Ogata says that he realized that lives could be saved if there was a mobile fetal monitor that could be used easily. He founded Melody in 2015 to commercialize, market, and establish a system.

Mobile Devices Cover Shortage of Medical Resources

Melody's core "delivery monitoring device iCTG" uses wireless transducers to measure the tension in a pregnant woman's abdomen and the heart rate of the fetus, and transmits and records the data to a cloud server via a tablet device. The corresponding obstetrician/gynecologist can view the data remotely, notice any abnormalities, and issue instructions at the appropriate time. What we envision is the development of a community-wide perinatal care system. Although obstetrics and gynecology departments in Japan are equipped with stationary delivery monitoring equipment, the number of doctors is decreasing, especially in rural areas. In developing countries, there is an inherent shortage of doctors, medical infrastructure, and equipment. By monitoring pregnant women and their unborn children via mobile terminals and responding to conditions that require medical attention within a regional network when they are detected, a society can be built in which safe and secure childbirth is possible even in the face of scarce medical resources. Convinced from the results of the demonstration in Chiang Mai that this idea would be especially important in developing countries, Ogata and co-founder Ninomiya have been conducting a series of demonstrations and case studies not only in Thailand but also in Bhutan and Africa, utilizing government and JICA projects.

Developed sales channels in the Philippines in 1.5 years with a local subsidiary.

To create a safe and secure environment in which children can be born. The value of this project is great in common in all countries, and the development of overseas activities through subsidized projects, etc. has expanded to 13 countries. On the other hand, as a medical device manufacturer, it is extremely difficult to establish sales channels from scratch in accordance with the standards and medical systems of each country. Therefore, Melody began working with RIVANES in 2021 to develop sales channels in Southeast Asia. First, they identified the inevitable pharmaceutical certification process in each country and interviewed local doctors to find out what their needs were for the device. Then, we learned that, especially in island countries like the Philippines, the shortage of doctors and the need for telemedicine were deep-rooted, even without the influence of Corona. Therefore, they contacted a local distributor in the Philippines and obtained pharmaceutical certification in 2022. Furthermore, we negotiated with obstetricians and gynecologists who could be key opinion leaders in the region, which was essential for the deployment of medical devices, and successfully conducted demonstration tests with three doctors, one public and one private, one in an urban area and one in a remote area, who could also be used for comparison. The most important factor in the progression of the project was the network and drive of the local subsidiary. When we were negotiating with the local distributor, online meetings and e-mails were not enough to get them to move forward, and we were about to give up when they stopped responding to our e-mails. At that time, an employee of RIVERNESS Philippines went to meet with the distributor in person on our behalf, and we were able to resume negotiations, which was a moment of great recovery," recalls Mr. Kanbara, who was in charge of business development in the Philippines. Only a year and a half after considering full-fledged entry into the market, the company proceeded with procedures to sign a contract with a local sales agent and succeeded in obtaining preorders at an exhibition.

IT and medical equipment to save pregnant women and babies around the world

Worldwide, as many as 2 million babies die each year from stillbirths. This is one stillborn baby every 16 seconds. Mr. Kanbara, who joined Melody in mid-career as a core employee for overseas expansion, was attracted to the world Melody was aiming for and joined the company. In a country where many babies are going to be born and the population is going to increase, the improvement of obstetric care is an urgent issue. I realized that I could make a contribution from Kagawa, Japan, and I was able to see this issue as my own personal matter," he says. In terms of the challenges facing the island nation, one might draw parallels between Kagawa Prefecture, Melody's home base, and the Philippines, which faces the issue of medical care in underpopulated areas. Mr. Ogata is enthusiastic: "I want to move forward step by step to bring safe and secure childbirth to babies and mothers around the world. Inspired by the vitality of RIVERNESS Philippines, with whom he worked on the Philippines entry project, Ogata would like to actively consider establishing a local office to establish a local sales channel. One by one, the little lives that Melody saves will continue to beat. (Text: Nami Akinaga)