Headquartered in Japan, Sysmex is the No. 1 provider of blood diagnostics equipment in the world. The firm was founded in 1963, when it introduced Japan’s first machine for analyzing blood. Today, Sysmex is a leader in test instruments for blood and urine analysis plus the associated reagents and software necessary for running complete diagnostics in doctors offices, hospitals, and commercial laboratories. It sells and supports its products in 190 countries. The name Sysmex is derived from combining the first letters from “Systematical + Medics + Infinite possibilities (X).”

In March 2020, when the COVID-19 virus was discovered in Japan, Sysmex was the first company to have a diagnostic test approved by the Japanese government for immediate use in hospitals, kicking off a research initiative it has continued to innovate, share globally, and advance as the pandemic has become endemic. It’s an example of the firm’s open innovation philosophy. Sysmex is engaged in and an advocate for combining technology and knowledge from researchers, institutes, and universities worldwide. To that end, the firm runs an Open Innovation Lab equipped with state-of-the-art instruments for use by researchers inside and outside of Sysmex to collaborate on projects related to genes, cells and proteins.

Looking ahead, Sysmex sees a changing market environment shaped by four trends: the COVID-19 pandemic, aging societies in developed countries, economic and population growth in emerging countries, and mounting geopolitical risks. To address these, Sysmex’s 21 R&D centers across the globe are focused specifically on breakthroughs in genomic medicine, dementia drugs, and certain technologies, including robotics, virtual reality, AI and big data. Much of this R&D is geared toward what Sysmex calls “personalized medicine,” whereby individualized diagnostics help determine the optimal treatment for each patient. Ideally, this reduces the physical burden on patients by homing in on the most effective treatment for a person’s disease and curtails medical expenses. Last year, Sysmex was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the sixth year running.

Hematology analyzers, credit: Sysmex

As of 12/31/21, Sysmex was held in the Knowledge Leaders Strategy.