TOKYO, September 1, 2020 -- Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 4519) and WORKS MOBILE Japan Corp. announced that 2,400 Chugai employees including medical representatives (MRs) started to use LINE WORKS, a business use version of LINE provided by WORKS MOBILE, for interactive communication with medical professionals.

LINE WORKS is the only business chat service linked to the communication app LINE. Medical professionals can communicate with Chugai MRs through LINE that they are familiar with by contacting Chugai MRs’ LINE WORKS accounts. If medical professionals do not wish to use their private LINE accounts for work, a free version of LINE WORKS with a simple system similar to LINE is available to support smooth communication between medical professionals and MRs.

“LINE WORKS is a business chat service with a groupware function. It is highly valued by user companies that the service does not require an introductory training, and can be easily used like LINE, which has 84 million users per month in Japan (as of June 2020). As LINE ROWKS is linked to LINE, it is increasingly used in sales and marketing for better customer communication through the customers’ LINE accounts,” said Yutaka Ishiguro, President & CEO of WORKS MOBILE Japan. “A pressing task for Japanese companies is to build a communication environment where they can conduct business smoothly without face-to-face communications or direct contacts that they used to rely on. We believe that the introduction of LINE WORKS by Chugai will help provide an environment that allows smooth communication between MRs and medical professionals in the face of changes in circumstances. We hope it will eventually contribute to the promotion of healthcare.”

“Under CHUGAI DIGITAL VISION 2030, we aims to transform our business by using digital technologies to make Chugai a top innovator in the provision of society-changing healthcare solutions,” said Satoko Shisai, Chugai’s Vice President, Head of Digital & IT Supervisory Division. “The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way medical professionals and MRs communicate, making online tools commonly used in daily business operations. The introduction of LINE WORKS will allow medical professionals and MRs to share information and promptly respond to inquiries while face-to-face communication is not possible. Chugai will utilize LINE WORKS as a new communication tool for the ‘with corona’ era to understand the needs of medical professionals in a prompt manner, quickly provide optimal solutions accordingly, and increase productivity of MRs.”

Chugai and WORKS MOBILE will start connect the chat service by LINE WORKS and Chugai’s existing work tools so as to use it as a front-end app for Chugai.

About CHUGAI DIGITAL VISION 2030
URL: https://www.chugai-pharm.co.jp/english/profile/digital/index.html
In CHUGAI DIGITAL VISION 2030, Chugai has set its goal for 2030 to transform its business by using digital technologies to make Chugai a top innovator in the provision of society-changing healthcare solutions. Based on the three basic strategies consisting of 1) Strengthen digital platform, 2) Optimize all value chains, and 3) Digital transformation for drug discovery and development, the company aims to transform its business and provide society-changing healthcare solutions.

About Chugai
Chugai Pharmaceutical is one of Japan’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies with strengths in biotechnology products. Chugai, based in Tokyo, specializes in prescription pharmaceuticals and is listed on the 1st section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. As an important member of the Roche Group, Chugai is actively involved in R&D activities in Japan and abroad. Specifically, Chugai is working to develop innovative products which will satisfy unmet medical needs. Additional information is available on the internet at https://www.chugai-pharm.co.jp/english/.

About LINE WORKS
LINE WORKS is "Business version of LINE" which offers business-friendly services such as bulletin board, calendar, contacts, and survey, as well as chat and stickers. The user interface is just like LINE, the widely used communication app., so anyone can start using it on the day without learning how to use it. In the "2019 Software Business New Market"*1 announced in August 2019, LINE WORKS achieved the top share in the paid business chat services market in Japan for two consecutive years.
*1 Source: "2019 Software Business New Market" by Fuji Chimera Research Institute, Inc.

Company Overview
Company name: WORKS MOBILE Japan Corp.
Headquarters: Jingumae Tower Building 11F, 1-5-8 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Established: June 2015
Representative: Yutaka Ishiguro, President & CEO
Capital: 5.52 billion yen
URL: https://line.worksmobile.com/jp/en/
* The names of companies and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
* Information contained in this press release is current as of the date of the release and subject to change without notice.