News

Osaka - Tokyo (Japan), March 4, 2019 - Maruho Co., Ltd. ("Maruho", Headquarters: Osaka, Japan, President and CEO: Koichi Takagi), announces today that it has launched the smartphone application "Nikibi Log" for patients with acne. Welby Inc. ("Welby", Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan, CEO: Takeshi Higiki), and Maruho jointly developed the application. Welby operates the app while Maruho promotes it.
Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder known medically as "acne vulgaris". Because acne is experienced in puberty, it is said to be "a symbol of youth", and it is not well recognized as a disease¹. However, according to a survey of the quality of life (QOL) of acne patients who visited medical institutions, regardless of the severity of the symptoms acne greatly affects a patient's quality of life². For this reason, early stage proactive treatment and long term maintenance treatment is required¹.

Nikibi Log records the symptoms of patients suffering from acne by using photos and a Daily Action Record, it enables patients to visualize changes of their symptoms. It supports patient self-management and promotes the continuation of treatment. Nikibi Log also provides basic information such as the mechanism of acne, along with information about makeup, skin care and related content that helps answers questions about acne and leads to a better understanding of the disease.

Specializing in dermatology, Maruho continues to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of people by providing scientific solutions useful for skin health. Welby continues to lead the Japanese Personal Health Record (PHR) service to realize patient-centered medical care in the future with the vision "Empower the Patients".

1. Hayashi N et al: J Dermatol. 2017; 127(6): 1261-1302
2. Hayashi N et al: J Dermatol. 2004; 31: 971-976

Application Information:
Name: Nikibi Log
Release Date: March 4, 2019
Download method: Downloadable from the App Store or Google Play (free)
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/id1453129116?mt=8
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.maruho.nkblog&hl=ja

（Main features of Nikibi Log）

Function 1: Daily Action Record
In the Daily Action Record function, it is possible to check whether you used medicine, events (menstruation/clinic visits) and the degree of anxiety over acne.
Function 2: Photo
The Photo function is to take photos of the appearance of acne.
Tags can be attached to images such as "forehead", "right side", etc. and saved.
Tags help you to review the progress of treatment for different areas.
Function 3: Log (Review)
In the Log (Review) function, "Photo" and "Daily Action Record" are combined.
By visualizing changes in symptoms, the app supports patients' self-care, and promotes the continuation of treatment.

Maruho's initiatives towards treatment for Acne
Maruho aims to provide information to acne patients receiving treatment from dermatologists, women in their 20s-30s, students and their guardians so they can understand acne and treat it correctly. On the special website "Project: Let's cure acne together", Maruho releases video content to explain the cause of acne and treatment methods using a hedgehog character for a mascot to appeal to students. (https://www.nikibi-hifuka.jp/)
(As Maruho markets treatments for customers in Japan, the information is only provided in Japanese).

About Maruho
Maruho Co., Ltd. has its headquarters in Osaka and leads Japan in research and development, manufacturing and commercialization of dermatological products. Founded in 1915, Maruho has 1,512 employees, and net sales were approximately 78.57 billion yen in its fiscal year ending September 30, 2018. Pursuing its long-term corporate vision of "Excellence in Dermatology," Maruho is striving to improve the health and quality of life of people all over the world.
For more information, please visit https://www.maruho.co.jp/english/

About Welby
Welby Inc., which was founded in 2011, is one of the biggest mobile/digital health platform operators in Japan and have been providing various medical apps for both patients and HCPs as the certified medical device company. Welby Inc. makes an open platform for personal health records and data aggregation, which can connect to medical devices, activity trackers and manual-input data from lab tests or prescriptions. One of the applications "Welby MyKarte" is the smartphone apps for patients with lifestyle related illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension to monitor the blood glucose and blood pressure. Welby Inc. also works directly with large, global pharmaceutical companies altogether, making apps for lifestyle-related illnesses, chronic pain, central nervous system diseases, oncology, immunology, and rare diseases.

About Personal Health Record (PHR)
A personal health record (PHR) refers to health and medical information that is managed electronically by a patient. In recent years, PHR is referred to in a broad sense as all the health information collected by a system. This data includes numerical data from smartphones such as blood pressure, weight, blood glucose levels, etc., lifestyle data, data from examinations acquired in cooperation with medical institutions, drug prescription records, etc.