Contributes to community medical services through research on new services that help streamline pharmacists' operations.
By leveraging DX/BPO expertise, works on developing next-generation talent

TOKYO, March 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- transcosmos today announced its partnership with the Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences (Location: Tokyo, Japan; President: Yoshihiro Mimaki; TUPLS). The partnership—Partnership Agreement on Promoting Pharmacist Operational Transformation to Address the 2040 Problem—is aimed at promoting the transformation of pharmacists' operations to address the so-called 2040 Problem, a significant worker shortfall expected in Japan by 2040.

• An educational institution and a private-sector company will engage in a cross-industry collaboration and leverage their respective experience and expertise built over the years to resolve challenges in community medical services, including labor and resource shortages, and conduct research on new services that help streamline pharmacists' operations.
• Discuss measures to enhance operations in communities facing pharmacist shortages and develop pharmaceutical education programs by leveraging expertise in digital transformation (DX) and business process outsourcing (BPO).
• Through education and research that combine professional pharmaceutical knowledge with DX/BPO expertise, contribute to developing next-generation talent who can support an ever-changing medical environment.

Through this initiative, the two parties will collaborate beyond their respective fields as an educational institution and a private-sector company to contribute to community medical services by utilizing the experience and expertise each party has built over the years.

Addressing the 2040 Problem has become an urgent challenge for Japan, as the country is expected to face both increased medical demand and a shortage of medical professionals leading up to 2040, the year when second-generation baby boomers will turn 65 or older. Communities that are expected to face a severe shortage of pharmacists, in particular, must streamline operations while maintaining the quality of medical services with limited human resources.

Under this partnership agreement, transcosmos and TUPLS will work closely together and utilize their respective strengths and resources to resolve challenges in community medical services arising from the 2040 Problem, such as workforce and resource shortages, and conduct research on new services that support the streamlining of pharmacists' operations. More specifically, the two parties will discuss measures to enhance operations in communities facing pharmacist shortages and will work on developing pharmaceutical education programs leveraging expertise in digital transformation (DX) and business process outsourcing (BPO).

Through education and research that combine professional pharmaceutical knowledge with DX/BPO expertise, the two parties will also contribute to developing next-generation talent who can support an ever-changing medical environment.

As the development of the so-called Community-based Integrated Care System progresses in recent years, pharmacists are expected to actively engage in community medical services and take on wider roles. At the same time, they are expected to adopt new approaches that increase work efficiency through digital technologies and optimize operational processes. 

transcosmos and TUPLS will promote effective collaboration and drive advanced initiatives to help build a sustainable community-based medical service system toward 2040.

Yoshihiro Mimaki, President, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences
"We are excited to have the opportunity to utilize transcosmos's DX and BPO expertise for student education and research to address challenges that future pharmacists and medical professionals will face, such as operational efficiency and worker shortages. Through this new industry-academia collaboration, we will contribute to resolving challenges in community medical services by promoting education and research that combine pharmaceutical expertise with the latest digital technologies and by developing talent who can support an ever-changing medical environment."

Satoshi Takayama, Corporate Executive Officer, transcosmos inc.
"We are delighted with this partnership agreement with the Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, which aims to transform pharmacists' operations to address the 2040 Problem. We are sincerely grateful for this opportunity to apply our DX and BPO expertise that we have built over the years to the field of pharmacist operational transformation and contribute to resolving challenges in community medical services. We expect that our efforts in research and education through this partnership will help develop next-generation talent who will lead the medical field of the future."

About transcosmos inc.
transcosmos launched its operations in 1966. Since then, we have united superior "people" with up-to-date "technology" to enhance the competitive strength of our clients by providing them with superior and valuable services. transcosmos currently offers services that support clients' business processes focusing on both sales expansion and cost optimization through our 186 bases across 36 countries/regions with a focus on Asia, while continuously pursuing Operational Excellence. Furthermore, following the expansion of e-commerce market on the global scale, transcosmos provides a comprehensive One-Stop Global E-Commerce Services to deliver our clients' excellent products and services to consumers in 46 countries/regions around the globe. transcosmos aims to be the "Global Digital Transformation Partner" of our clients, supporting the clients' transformation by leveraging digital technology, responding to the ever-changing business environment. Visit us here https://www.trans-cosmos.co.jp/english/

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