Sony Corp. said Thursday it will establish a company in Tokyo in late February that will conduct human genome analysis, part of the electronics giant's efforts to bolster medical operations.
The new company, named P5 Inc., will analyze human genetic data and provide the information to drug makers and research institutions. It will also accumulate medical and health data for use in anticipating the types of diseases people are more likely to develop and ways to treat them.
P5 will be owned by Sony, subsidiary M3 Inc., which runs a medical information website, and U.S. genetic data analysis equipment maker Illumina Inc.
Sony did not unveil the three companies' ownership ratios for P5, but a Sony official said that both Sony and M3 are expected to own most of the new firm.