TOKYO, January 10, 2019 -- Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 4519) announced that it launched a chatbot “MI chat (Medical Information ChatBot),” an automated conversation program using artificial intelligence (AI) to respond to inquiries on product information. The operation started today to answer questions about an anti-influenza agent Tamiflu^® on the webpage for healthcare professionals on Chugai website.

At Chugai, specialized staff at the Medical Information Dept. (MI Dept.) corresponds to product-related inquiries from healthcare professionals and patients. The total annual number of inquiries to MI Dept. is approximately 60,000. Inquiries related to Tamiflu concentrate in winter and its number reaches approximately 12,000 a year.

MI chat is a chat system that integrates an AI-based business assistant system by Fairuse Inc. (Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Yosuke Adachi) and a platform introduced by Chugai. The AI in the chatbot understands inquiries from healthcare professionals and automatically presents an answer which best matches the intention of the question from hundreds of Q&A registered in advance.

The introduction of MI chat is expected to reduce the time healthcare professionals spend searching information on website, and improve convenience such as expanding choice of channels. MI Dept. will continue to respond to inquiries from patients and healthcare professionals while further improving service quality. We also aim to expand the use to multiple products by the end of this year and to cover all products in 2021.

Benefits of MI chat

• Reduces time spent for searching information on the website
• Responds to various inquiries about products
• Enables to search information in colloquial style
• Provides information in question and answer
• Is accessible from personal computer and smartphone
• Provides information via One Voice without information gaps 24 hours a day, every day

Chugai is actively involved in the introduction of new technologies as well as innovative products, aiming to create an environment where appropriate information can be promptly provided for healthcare professionals.

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