— Technology to enable development of high-efficacy therapeutic drugs sooner and at lower cost —

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:7272) (ISIN:JP3942800008) announced today that it has developed the cell picking/imaging system CELL HANDLERTM. This device performs part of the testing process to evaluate pharmaceutical efficacy, such as in the development of new drugs and anti-cancer agents. It will enable the development of high-efficacy therapeutic drugs sooner and at lower cost, which will in-turn contribute to reducing medical costs.

CELL HANDLERTM enables one-by-one selection of target cells and transfers them to a microplate, while simultaneously capturing/digitalizing images – a process that was very difficult with high throughput and accuracy using the conventional manual method.

Using Yamaha Motor’s applied surface mounter ultra high-speed and high-precision pick & place technology, newly developed picking & dispensing technology, and image processing technology work to process even small and fragile cells. A unique and specialized disposable tip and chamber have also been developed by Yamaha Motor to suit the CELL HANDLERTM system.

There is currently strong growth in the market for business utilizing cells, and with the number of cancer sufferers rising every year, there is a demand for further improvement in quality and work efficiency for anti-cancer sensitivity tests and biomarker tests. The development of the CELL HANDLERTM system is part of Yamaha Motor’s objective to accelerate and strengthen growth strategies under the three-year New Medium-Term Management Plan started in 2016.

Press release: http://bit.ly/2wnfHXKProduct information: https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/hc/

About Yamaha Motor

Yamaha Motor (TOKYO:7272) is a world-leading producer of motorcycles, marine products, power products and intelligent machinery. The company’s diverse business and wide variety of products are built around its proprietary technologies focused on engines, chassis & hull and electronic control. Yamaha Motor conducts global development, production and marketing operations through 140 subsidiaries and equity-method affiliates in 30 countries. About 90% of consolidated net sales are generated in more than 200 countries outside of Japan. The company is steadily restructuring its global engineering, manufacturing and marketing capabilities for sustainable long-term growth. Please visit https://global.yamaha-motor.com/ir/report/.

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.Naoto Horie, +81-3-5220-7211Corporate Communication DivisionGlobal PR Teamymcglobalpr@yamaha-motor.co.jp