Kota Kubo
Ubie has formulated and published social impact indicators and a logic model centered on “maximizing healthy life expectancy.” Since its founding, the company is estimated to have contributed to extending healthy life expectancy by over 27,000 years and creating more than 150 billion yen in economic value.
Ubie Corporation (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Co-CEOs: Yoshimasa Abe and Kouta Kubo, hereinafter referred to as “Ubie”) is pleased to announce that it has formulated and published social impact indicators and a logic model to quantitatively evaluate and effectively enhance the positive impact of its business activities on society. Among the indicators we have formulated, the “healthy life expectancy extension impact (*1),” which is most closely related to our vision, was estimated. The results suggest that since our founding in 2017, our business activities have contributed to extending healthy life expectancy by an estimated 27,000 years and creating over 150 billion yen in economic value.
Details of the impact indicators and logic model can be found here.
Ubie has formulated and published social impact indicators and a logic model centered on “maximizing healthy life expectancy.” Since its founding, the company is estimated to have contributed to extending healthy life expectancy by over 27,000 years and creating more than 150 billion yen in economic value.
Ubie Corporation (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Co-CEOs: Yoshimasa Abe and Kouta Kubo, hereinafter referred to as “Ubie”) is pleased to announce that it has formulated and published social impact indicators and a logic model to quantitatively evaluate and effectively enhance the positive impact of its business activities on society. Among the indicators we have formulated, the “healthy life expectancy extension impact (*1),” which is most closely related to our vision, was estimated. The results suggest that since our founding in 2017, our business activities have contributed to extending healthy life expectancy by an estimated 27,000 years and creating over 150 billion yen in economic value.
Details of the impact indicators and logic model can be found here.
Ubie is a health tech company with the mission of “guiding people to appropriate medical care through technology.” Japan ranks among the top in the world for both average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, yet it is estimated that approximately one-sixth of a person's life is impaired by illness (*2). One of the contributing factors to this issue is the “mismatch between individuals and appropriate medical care,” where effective treatments exist but suitable medical services do not reach the people who need them. Ubie aims to address this challenge by creating a social impact centered on maximizing healthy life expectancy.
Our company supports approximately 10 million people per month in accessing appropriate medical care through “Ubie,” a service that allows users to search for disease information and nearby medical facilities based on their symptoms, and “Ubie AI Symptom Checker,” where users can find information about diseases and treatment methods. Additionally, we offer “Ubie Medical Navi” to healthcare institutions to support improving the quality of medical care, which has been implemented in over 1,700 medical institutions nationwide. Furthermore, we leverage these platforms to provide services that connect pharmaceutical companies with consumers and medical institutions.
We promote disease and treatment awareness by providing extensive information on diseases and treatments held by pharmaceutical companies to consumers and medical institutions. Through these initiatives, we have successfully matched many consumers with appropriate medical care, thereby extending healthy life expectancy. Additionally, the social impact of our business drives financial growth, and we reinvest the profits to create more opportunities for matching consumers with appropriate medical care. This creates a unique business model where social contribution and financial growth generate a synergistic effect.
Social impact indicators are tools used to qualitatively and quantitatively understand the impact generated by our business activities and effectively enhance this impact. Recently, we have formulated seven KPIs and two KGIs that are strongly related to the realization of our mission and vision, as well as our competitive advantage. Additionally, we have attempted to estimate the impact of extending healthy life expectancy, which is most closely related to our vision. According to our estimates, the impact of extending healthy life expectancy through our business activities, in collaboration with stakeholders since our founding in 2017, is estimated to exceed 27,000 years. Furthermore, using impact-weighted accounting methods, the economic value of this impact is suggested to be over 150 billion yen. We believe that a startup like ours taking the lead in evaluating intended impacts and utilizing this informational asset for business and organizational growth serves as an exemplary case, contributing to the healthy development of the industry.
In the future, Ubie will quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the value contributed to collaboration with stakeholders by measuring social impact indicators. This will be actively utilized for more constructive dialogue with stakeholders, the formulation and execution of more effective management policies, and other purposes. Additionally, Ubie will further accelerate its unique business model, which generates a synergistic effect between social contribution and financial growth. We are committed to balancing the resolution of sustainable social issues with economic growth and achieving our mission and vision.
1 Considering the relevance to our mission and business, the explanatory power, and the sensitivity of the indicators, we have interpreted and defined the increase in Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY) as an extension of healthy life expectancy.
2 According to “Disease burden vs. health expenditure per capita—Data by Our world in Data,” in 2019, the disease burden in Japan was 15,885.71 DALYs per 100,000 people, or approximately 0.159 DALYs per person. We interpret 1 DALY as equivalent to losing one year of healthy life. Therefore, as of 2019, it was interpreted that, on average, each person was losing about 0.159 years, or roughly 1/6 of a year, of healthy life.
Points to note
・Generally, healthy life expectancy refers to the average period during which an individual can perform daily activities without limitations and the average period during which they perceive themselves to be in good health. It should be noted that it is calculated using the Sullivan method.
・As of May 2024, we are unable to assess our platform's contribution ratio. It is important to note that the impact was achieved with stakeholders such as pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions.
・As of May 2024, the targeted areas (11 diseases and 18 treatments) are only a subset of the diseases addressed by Ubie as of May 2024. It is important to note that the estimation results of the impact on extending healthy life expectancy should be considered as reference values only. This is due to factors such as the variability in the user data used as the basis for the estimation, the inability to account for the differences between user demographics and actual epidemiological distributions, and the fact that much of the QALY evidence comes from international literature (where comparisons of QOL values between different races and societies are generally not conducted).
・When converting the monetary value of QALY, it is important to note that the estimation results should only be considered reference values. This is due to the fact that we have only estimated a part of the methods presented by the VBA HEALTH CLUSTER Social Impact of Innovative Medicine (specifically, the Direct Paid Effects). Additionally, we have not been able to account for differences in medical backgrounds based on the age distribution of users.
Towards a more accurate evaluation
・In conjunction with formulating guidance for impact evaluation, we will consider assessment and disclosure using appropriate methods.
・It is believed that conducting research aligned with the objectives, rather than solely ref
About Ubie
Ubie, Inc., established in 2017, is at the forefront of the digital health revolution. As an innovative startup, Ubie harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to seamlessly navigate individuals toward appropriate healthcare services. Our mission is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves access to comprehensive healthcare regardless of location or circumstance. We are developing and offering "Ubie AI Symptom Checker," which utilizes AI as its core technology to guide individuals to appropriate medical care based on their symptoms, and "Ubie Medical Navi," a service package for healthcare institutions aimed at improving the quality of diagnosis and treatment.
New York Office: 1460 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
Tokyo Office: 6th Floor, Nihonbashi-Horidomecho 2-chome Bldg., 2-4-3, Horidomecho, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0012〒103-0012
Founded: May 2017
Co-Founder / CEO: Yoshinori Abe / Kota Kubo
Author
Kota Kubo
Co-Founder / CEO
Graduated from the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Engineering. In 2013, while enrolled at the University of Tokyo, he began researching and developing software and algorithms that simulate the relationship between doctors' symptoms and disease names. He worked at M3 Corporation for about three years, working on software development and web marketing in the BtoC healthcare field, including doctor Q&A services. In 2017, he founded Ubie with his co-representative doctor Abe.