Nihon Ultmarc

What Nihon Ultmarc does

Nihon Ultmarc Inc. (株式会社日本アルトマーク) operates Japan's leading medical database, MDB (Medical Database), covering nearly 100% of the country's healthcare facilities and professionals through five registered master files: DCF (Doctor/Hospital File), DSF (Drug Store File), PCF (Hospital Pharmacist File), DNF (Dental Facility/Dentist File), and ECF (Other Facilities File). The core database covers approximately 8,000 hospitals, 106,000 clinics, 62,000 pharmacies, 68,000 dental facilities, 219,000 other facilities, 75,000 hospital pharmacists, and 109,000 dentists, and is maintained through a cooperative membership model in which roughly 246 subscribing companies jointly contribute updates. The MDB facility and physician code system functions as the de facto industry-standard master data across Japan's pharmaceutical sector.

The product portfolio layers optional data files and solution services on top of the base database: JDMX (domestic medical-journal information for KOL identification), KGF (hospital ward/nursing information), MDB-FAX (urgent drug-safety communication), MDBα (cloud-based enhanced database with proprietary research and open data), C3 (wholesale-channel code conversion), Multichannel Monitor™ (analytics co-developed with ZS Associates applying machine learning to physician channel affinity), ファーマスタイル (monthly pharmacy publication), direct mail services, and the medパス common-authentication platform operated via a joint venture with MedPeer. The company is a subsidiary of M3, Inc. (TSE:2413) since April 2019, following prior ownership within the NTT Docomo Group from 2013, and is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, with a branch office in Morioka and approximately 94 employees as of July 2025.

Nihon Ultmarc generates revenue primarily through recurring annual subscription fees paid by pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical device companies, CROs/SMOs, market research firms, publishers, insurance companies, and other healthcare-related enterprises that access the MDB master files and add-on services. Membership is gated — non-members cannot subscribe — and pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company markets via direct enterprise sales, a member-only portal, annual industry events, and thought-leadership publications such as hospital and pharmacy surveys. The CRO business was divested in 2013 to sharpen focus on the data subscription franchise.

Name

Nihon Ultmarc

Legal name

株式会社日本アルトマーク (Nihon Ultmarc Inc.)

Website

https://ultmarc.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Nihon Ultmarc operates Japan's de facto standard medical database (MDB), covering virtually all healthcare facilities and professionals through a cooperative subscription model serving pharmaceutical, medical-device, and healthcare-related enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Database Services

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Master Data Management (MDM) & Patient/Provider Identity Data (HLACAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Consent, Preference & Data Rights Management (incl. HIPAA/GDPR support) (HLACAIAG)

Keywords

• Medical database services
• Pharmaceutical marketing data
• Healthcare facility master data
• Medical professional directory
• Clinical research support

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. MDB Database Subscription: Core revenue is generated through membership fees paid by pharmaceutical, medical device, and other healthcare-related companies to access the MDB database. The membership-based model provides recurring subscription revenue. Approximately 246 member companies (as of April 2019) subscribe to various master file packages.
2. Optional Database Files (JDMX, KGF, MDB-FAX): Supplementary paid database services including JDMX (domestic medical paper information), KGF (hospital nursing information), and MDB-FAX (emergency safety fax database), available as add-ons to the base master file subscription.
3. Solution Services (MDBα, C3, DM, Credentials, medパス): A suite of value-added services including MDBα (cloud-based enhanced database with surveys and open data), C3 (code conversion service), DM (direct mail service), ファーマスタイル (pharmacy journal), and medパス (common ID authentication service). These are subscription or per-transaction services complementing the core MDB.
4. 名寄せ / Name-matching and Code Attribution Service: Charges for attributing MDB codes to client-owned facility or physician data, enabling integration with client's internal systems. Service includes input operations and code attribution.
5. Analysis Support / Consulting Services: Services such as Multichannel Monitor (channel analytics) and analysis support services that provide insights to pharmaceutical companies on marketing strategy and channel effectiveness.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nihon Ultmarc operates Japan's leading cooperative medical database (MDB) covering virtually all hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, dental facilities, and other healthcare establishments along with healthcare professionals across the country. The company sells subscription-based membership access to master data files (DCF, DSF, PCF, DNF, ECF) and a suite of complementary solution services such as code conversion, direct mail, journal database (JDMX), hospital nursing information (KGF), emergency safety fax (MDB-FAX), and analytics services (Multichannel Monitor) to pharmaceutical, medical device, and other healthcare enterprises.

Product overview

Nihon Ultmarc operates a unified Medical Database (MDB) ecosystem centered on its core database of medical facilities and healthcare professionals, managed through a membership-based co-maintenance model with pharmaceutical and medical device companies. The core MDB consists of five master files (DCF, DSF, PCF, DNF, ECF) covering hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, pharmacists, dental facilities, dentists, and other healthcare facilities. This is complemented by optional data services (JDMX, KGF, MDB-FAX) and a cloud-based solution (MDBα) that adds proprietary research and open data. Supporting services include C3 for code conversion, analysis services (Multichannel Monitor), and the medパス common ID platform for medical professionals which provides both a consumer portal (medy news) and enterprise authentication services. The company also offers sector-specific solutions like the pharmacy publication ファーマスタイル, direct mail services, outpatient schedule information, and name-linking services for data integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MDB (Medical Database) Japan's comprehensive medical database covering nearly 100% of medical facilities and professionals, operated under a cooperative membership model with pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
• DCF (Doctor Computer File) Master file containing nationwide medical institution names, addresses, phone numbers, departments, and physician names, positions, and affiliations. Coverage: 8,000 hospitals, 106,000 clinics, 4,000 elderly care facilities, 65,000 welfare facilities.
• DSF (Drug Store File) Master file containing pharmacy and drug store names, addresses, phone numbers, representatives, and managing pharmacist names. Coverage: 62,000 pharmacies including 61,000 insurance pharmacies.
• PCF (Pharmacist Computer File) Master file containing hospital pharmacist names, workplace, positions, and department affiliations. Coverage: 75,000 registered pharmacists.
• DNF (Dentist Computer File) Master file containing dental facility and dentist names, addresses, phone numbers, departments, positions, and department affiliations. Coverage: 68,000 facilities and 109,000 dentists.
• ECF (Else Computer File) Other facilities master file for pharmaceutical distribution targets not included in DCF, DSF, or DNF. Coverage: 219,000 registered facilities.
• MDBα Cloud-based enhanced database solution combining MDB core data with proprietary research and open data, supporting area marketing for the integrated care era.
• C3 (Channel Code Center) Distribution facility code conversion service that converts pharmaceutical wholesaler customer information to MDB facility codes on a daily basis.
• Medical/Pharmaceutical Information Direct Mail Service (医薬情報ダイレクトメール発送サービス) Direct mail delivery service for medical/pharmaceutical information using the latest MDB data, ensuring reliable information delivery to healthcare facilities and professionals.
• Pharma Style (ファーマスタイル) Monthly publication delivering medical information to pharmacists at insurance pharmacies and hospital pharmacy departments nationwide, with company information inserts for guaranteed information delivery.
• Name-matching Service (名寄せサービス) MDB code assignment service that accurately and quickly assigns MDB codes to customer data lacking codes, enabling integration with internal systems and data cleaning using latest MDB facility and address information.
• Outpatient Schedule Information Service (外来表情報提供サービス) Service that automatically collects doctor names, outpatient days, and session counts from hospital websites, assigns MDB codes, and delivers structured data for targeted promotion activities.
• Analysis Support Service / Multichannel Monitor Analytics service developed in alliance with ZS Associates, enabling aggregation analysis of multiple company activity data to understand activity volume and channel affinity per target physician, identifying gaps and optimal MR activity plans.
• JDMX (Journal Database of Medical X) Optional file containing bibliographic data, author names, journal names, abstracts, and co-authorship order from medical and pharmaceutical journals, enabling KOL/AOL/rising star identification and professional expertise analysis.
• KGF (Hospital Nursing Information / Kango File) Optional file containing bed counts and calculation dates for hospital basic admission fees and specific admission fees by ward type, covering approximately 8,400 hospitals nationwide with semi-annual updates.
• MDB-FAX Urgent pharmaceutical/medical device safety information and product recall (Class 1) communication system providing fax numbers to medical institutions and pharmacies using DCF/DSF facility codes.
• LookMDB Web-based maintenance information viewing service for MDB members providing real-time access to maintenance data including new registrations, scheduled deletions, and deletion cancellations for DCF, DNF, DSF, and ECF facility files.
• medパス (Med Pass) Common authentication ID service for medical professionals enabling single sign-on across multiple medical websites, offered both as a consumer-facing service and enterprise authentication outsourcing for pharmaceutical company owned media.

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HOYA CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025HOYA Corporation jointly utilizes personal data contained in Nihon Ultmarc's Medical Database with Nihon Ultmarc and its member companies. HOYA and other members also provide updates to maintain database accuracy, with management handled by Nihon Ultmarc.
• ZS Associates International Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2019ZS Associates and Nihon Ultmarc formed a strategic alliance to jointly operate Multichannel Monitor™, an analytics service that aggregates activity data across member companies to analyze physician-level activity volume and channel affinity using machine learning.
• Medパス (medパス株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2016A joint venture company (合弁会社) was established in March 2016 to operate medパス, the common authentication ID service for medical professionals. Nihon Ultmarc co-founded and operates this entity to provide a unified login system across medical websites.
• ZS Associates International Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance partner for the Multichannel Monitor analytics service. Service is limited to MDB member companies.
• AstraZeneca K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis. One of approximately 24 pharmaceutical company members in the joint-use program.
• Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• GlaxoSmithKline K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Sanofi K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Takeda Pharmaceutical Company LimitedcoreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Tanabe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Eli Lilly Japan K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Japan Boehringer Ingelheim K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Novo Nordisk Pharma K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Pfizer Inc.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Merck Biopharma K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• UCB Japan Co., Ltd.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Regeneron Japan K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• AbbVie K.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Alexion Pharmaceuticals G.K.coreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• Viatris Pharmaceuticals LLCcoreOthersJoint utilization of medical professional demand/interest data for pharmaceutical marketing analysis.
• 特定非営利活動法人 医学中央雑誌刊行会 (Igaku Chuo Zasshi/Kensakukai — Medical Central Journals Organization)Technology or IntegrationPartnership with the Medical Central Journals organization to incorporate bibliographic information from domestic medical and pharmaceutical journals into JDMX. This provides the data source for identifying physician expertise areas.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Definitive Healthcare: U.S.-based provider of healthcare commercial intelligence including physician, hospital, and IDN master data sold to life-sciences companies. Closely comparable in offering and customer type (pharma/medtech commercial teams) to Nihon Ultmarc's MDB.
• MedPeer, Inc. Operates a physician community platform in Japan used by doctors for clinical information sharing and peer discussion. Comparable because MedPeer is the JV partner in medパス and addresses the same Japanese physician audience with a complementary data/community layer.

Broad incumbents

• Cegedim: European healthcare technology and data company providing physician databases, CRM, and life-sciences commercial solutions to pharmaceutical companies. Comparable in business model (subscription master data + pharma CRM) to Nihon Ultmarc, though focused on EMEA.
• IQVIA Holdings: Global leader in healthcare data, analytics, and commercial services for pharmaceutical companies. Operates large-scale physician, facility, and prescription master datasets worldwide. Highly comparable to Nihon Ultmarc's role as a pharma master-data vendor, though at vastly larger scale and geographic breadth.
• M3, Inc. Parent company of Nihon Ultmarc and a major Japanese healthcare IT platform operating physician portals (MR-kun, QOL-kun), medical news, and clinical trial services. Comparable as the group within which Nihon Ultmarc operates, with overlapping physician-data infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Veeva Systems: Cloud-based life-sciences commercial and data platform serving pharmaceutical companies with CRM, master data management, and promotional compliance tools. Comparable as a modern, software-led alternative to traditional file-based master data vendors serving the same pharma customer base.
• Komodo Health: U.S. healthcare analytics company building a 'map' of U.S. patient and provider encounters for life-sciences and payer use cases. Comparable as a technology-forward alternative master data + analytics provider targeting pharma commercial teams.
• Doctorbook: Japanese physician community and information platform serving pharmaceutical marketing and medical information dissemination. Comparable in serving the same Japanese physician audience and pharma customer base as Nihon Ultmarc.

Others

• Salesforce (Health Cloud / Veeva competitor): Global CRM and data platform increasingly used by pharmaceutical companies for physician engagement and master-data workflows. Comparable as an adjacent technology ecosystem competing for the same pharma commercial technology budget.

Regional players

• Intage, Inc. Japanese market research and data analytics company serving consumer and healthcare sectors in Japan. Comparable as a Japan-based data and analytics vendor with overlap in healthcare and pharmaceutical customer coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nihon Ultmarc