Knock on the Door

What Knock on the Door does

Knock on the Door Inc. (ノックオンザドア株式会社) is a Tokyo-headquartered digital health company founded in July 2018 that develops patient and family co-created PHR (Personal Health Record) platforms for intractable diseases, principally pediatric epilepsy and dementia. Its core asset is nanacara, a mobile application that enables patients and families to record seizure events through one-tap video capture, timer, notes, medication logs, and calendar/graph views, and to share these records with treating physicians via the companion cloud service nanacara for Doctor. The product surface extends to nana-medi (online consultation and medication guidance priced at ¥1,480 per session), the physical specialty pharmacy nanacara pharmacy in Osaka, Watashite (a dementia life-history and information-sharing platform launched January 2026), and adjunct community sites WEPiLi and ALS Connect. The integrated technology stack combines a smartphone app, a cloud-based physician portal, an API integration with the harmo electronic medication record system (~800 pharmacies), and barcode/EHR integration features in development.

The company's revenue mechanics are primarily transaction-based, anchored by telemedicine consultation/medication-guidance fees and prescription dispensing through nanacara pharmacy, while patient applications and the physician portal are offered free. Distribution blends self-serve app-store consumer acquisition, enterprise sales to medical institutions (300+ accounts, 517+ epilepsy specialists), the nanacara pharmacy storefront, and — following the September 2025 acquisition by Sugi Holdings — a channel partnership leveraging the Sugi Pharmacy Group network of approximately 2,000 stores plus harmo-affiliated pharmacies.

Knock on the Door sells to two principal customer cohorts: end-user patients and families (predominantly pediatric epilepsy; expanding into dementia) accessed through app stores and direct community engagement with disease associations such as OHANA, DFK/Dravet, CDKL5, STXBP1, and the ALD Future network; and healthcare enterprises including epilepsy and pediatric neurology specialists, hospitals, and pharmacies, accessed through academic conference presence (Japan Pediatric Neurology Society, Japan Epilepsy Society, Japan Dementia Care Society) and pharmacist training programs such as the SAChi Project course. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sugi Holdings Co., Ltd. (Sugi Pharmacy Group) as of September 2025.

Name

Knock on the Door

Legal name

ノックオンザドア株式会社

Website

https://knockonthedoor.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Knock on the Door is a Japanese digital health company that builds patient- and family-co-created PHR platforms for intractable diseases, primarily the nanacara seizure-recording app and physician portal for pediatric epilepsy. Since September 2025, it operates as a subsidiary of Sugi Holdings and is expanding into dementia (Watashite) and specialty pharmacy services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Health Platform

NAICS

Home Health Care Services (62161), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Neurology Telemedicine Platforms (HLALAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technology Assistance & Digital Support for Seniors (HSABAAAH)

Keywords

• Epilepsy seizure tracking
• Digital health platform
• Personal health records
• Telemedicine services
• Specialty pharmacy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Shibaura

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Online medical consultation and medication guidance fees: nana-medi online consultation service charges fees for telemedicine consultations and online medication guidance. Set price of 1,480 yen (tax-inclusive) for combined online consultation and medication guidance, 1,480 yen for online consultation alone, and 480 yen for online medication guidance alone.
2. Platform subscription and service fees: nanacara app and services are offered with the primary focus on patient-family value creation. Revenue is generated through telemedicine service fees and potential premium features, with Watashite platform offered free for families and care providers.
3. nanacara pharmacy prescription and dispensing services: nanacara pharmacy generates revenue through prescription fulfillment and dispensing services, operating as a specialty pharmacy focused on epilepsy and related conditions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Knock on the Door develops and operates a digital health platform for patients with intractable diseases (epilepsy and dementia) and their families, headlined by the nanacara seizure recording app, the cloud-based nanacara for Doctor physician portal, the nana-medi telemedicine service, the Watashite dementia information sharing platform, and a specialty epilepsy pharmacy. Its products enable patient-family co-created health data capture, physician review during consultations, online medication guidance, and specialty dispensing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• nanacara: Epilepsy seizure and medication recording app for families with children with epilepsy. Allows one-tap video recording, timer, and notes for detailed seizure tracking.
• nanacara for Doctor
• nana-medi
• ワタシテ
• nanacara薬局
• ALS Connect
• WEPiLi
• nanacaraセカンドスクール

Products and services

• nanacara Smartphone app for epilepsy patients and families to record seizure events, medication status, and notes, with one-tap video recording, timer, and calendar/graph views. Free for patients and families; data is shared with physicians through nanacara for Doctor.
• nanacara for Doctor Cloud-based web service for registered physicians to view patient seizure records, medication status, and videos during medical examinations. Free for registered doctors and used at 300+ medical institutions in Japan.
• nana-medi Telemedicine service specialized in epilepsy that enables online consultations with doctors and pharmacists. Supports three-way (or up to four-family-member) online consultations with medication delivery to patient homes. Priced at 1,480 yen (tax-inclusive) for combined online consultation and medication guidance; 1,480 yen for consultation alone; 480 yen for medication guidance alone.
• Watashite (ワタシテ) Information sharing platform for people with dementia and their families/care providers. Allows recording of life history, preferences, and daily events via smartphone app and web service, with both family/caregiver and care facility web services provided free of charge.
• nanacara pharmacy (nanacara薬局) Physical specialty pharmacy with pharmacists specialized in epilepsy medication guidance. Operates at Miyakojima-hondori 2-15-7, Miyakojima-ku, Osaka City (Mon-Fri 9:30-18:00, Sat 9:30-13:30). Generates revenue through prescription dispensing services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40,000 cumulative app downloads and 1.5 million+ seizure records as of March 2026
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 October 2025KOD signed a basic agreement with Kanagawa Prefecture in July 2024 for the 'Dementia and Other ME-BYO Improvement Project Platform Construction'. This partnership involves pilot implementation of Watashite platform and collaboration on dementia pre-disease improvement initiatives under Kanagawa's ME-BYO BRAND program. Watashite received ME-BYO BRAND certification in March 2026.
• Sugi Holdings Co., Ltd. (スギホールディングス株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025KOD became a subsidiary of Sugi Holdings in September 2025, joining the Sugi Pharmacy Group. This provides KOD access to Sugi's nationwide network of approximately 2,000+ pharmacies for distributing nanacara services and specialty pharmacy operations. The acquisition enables KOD to leverage Sugi's 'Total Healthcare Strategy' combining pharmacy, telemedicine, and digital health services at scale. Sugi Holdings (established 1982, headquartered in Obu, Aichi) had 2024 revenue of approximately 680 billion yen.
• SAChi Project (、一般社団法人SAChiプロジェクト)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 31 July 2025KOD co-organizes epilepsy pharmacist training programs with SAChi Project. nanacara pharmacy serves as the operational coordinator for the 'Anti-Epileptic Drug Practical Course' - a 6-session program with over 100 pharmacist attendees per session, offering Japan Pharmacist Training Center certification units.
• harmo Co., Ltd. (harmo株式会社)coreTechnology or Integration · 3 September 2024API integration between nanacara and harmo's electronic medication record system 'harmo おくすり手帳'. This enables automatic syncing of prescription data from approximately 800 harmo-affiliated pharmacies into the nanacara app, reducing manual data entry for patients. The integration is particularly valuable for epilepsy medication tracking.
• CMIC HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (シミックホールディングス株式会社)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023Capital and business alliance formed in December 2022 with CMIC Holdings, a healthcare services company, for business development support in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector.
• NCNP National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (国立精神・神経医療研究センター)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCNP Epilepsy Center serves as the secretariat for the Epilepsy Telemedicine Research Society, with KOD providing operational support. KOD also partners with NCNP for telemedicine research and pilot programs. Dr. Takeshi Taniguchi (NCNP Epilepsy Center Director) leads the research society that KOD supports through nana-medi platform.
• Osaka City General Medical Center (大阪市立総合医療センター)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Shin Okazaki (Director, Pediatric Neurology and Language Therapy Department) is a key clinical collaborator in nanacara's development. He co-presents at events with KOD CEO, contributes to WEPiLi epilepsy information site (supervised by Dr. Okazaki), and participates in joint research and education initiatives.
• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (経済産業省) - Orange Innovation ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKOD serves as secretariat for the dementia 'Orange Innovation Project' organized by METI since 2023. The project connects approximately 20 companies with over 100 people with dementia to promote 'person-participatory development' of products and services for dementia-friendly society.
• Eisai Co., Ltd. (エーザイ株式会社)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder Chihiro Takayama previously worked at Eisai and the company has collaborated on epilepsy awareness and patient support initiatives. Eisai Japan introduced KOD to Korean market for Korean Epilepsy Congress participation.
• Inochi Kaigi (いのち会議)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerKOD participates in the Inochi Kaigi (Life Conference) platform which brings together medical, welfare, education, government, and patient stakeholders to discuss 'future society where all lives shine'. KOD's CEO and co-founder presented at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo Inochi Declaration Festival.
• Inochi Forum (inochi-forum.org)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatform for dialogue and co-creation bringing together enterprises, universities, civil society, and patients for social issues. KOD participates in symposiums and contributed to the 'Declaration for Rare Disease' submitted at the Osaka-Kansai Expo.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• CureApp: Japanese digital therapeutics company developing prescription software for nicotine dependence, hypertension, and other conditions. Comparable to KOD as a Japan-focused clinical/regulatory-grade health software company pursuing reimbursement-grade digital interventions.
• Empatica: US/Italy-based developer of the EpiMonitor wearable and app for epilepsy seizure detection, FDA-cleared. Comparable to KOD's nanacara as an epilepsy-focused PHR + wearable-adjacent platform with clinician data sharing, though operating in a different geography.
• Aikomi: Japan-based digital therapeutics company focused on dementia care, including non-pharmacological digital interventions for people with dementia. Comparable to KOD's Watashite dementia platform in addressing person-centered dementia support through digital tools.
• Seer Medical: Australia-based epilepsy diagnosis and remote monitoring company. Comparable to KOD's epilepsy specialist platform and nana-medi telemedicine in delivering home-based epilepsy monitoring and clinician-facing data, with overlap in target customers (epilepsy specialists and patients).

Direct peers

• Medley: Operates JobMedley (medical staffing) and a digital health platform serving patients and providers in Japan. Comparable as a Japan-headquartered digital health company building patient-facing tools that integrate with physicians and care providers, similar to KOD's specialist-focused PHR model.
• Welby: Japan-based PHR platform serving patients with chronic conditions (diabetes, hypertension, etc.) via mobile apps linked to providers. Closely comparable to KOD's nanacara as a Japan chronic-disease PHR with patient-physician data sharing and disease-specific specialization.
• MICIN: Japan-based telemedicine and digital health platform offering online consultation and chronic-condition management. Directly comparable to KOD's nana-medi telemedicine service and broader PHR ambitions within the Japanese regulatory and reimbursement environment.

Broad incumbents

• NeuroPace: US-based developer of the RNS System, an implanted neurostimulator for drug-resistant epilepsy with cloud data platform. Comparable to KOD's focus on drug-resistant epilepsy patients and the use of longitudinal seizure data, though NeuroPace operates in medical devices rather than software-only.
• LINE Healthcare (LINE Health Care): Operated by LY Corporation/LINE, providing online medical consultation and healthcare services in Japan via LINE app. Comparable to nana-medi as a Japan telemedicine platform competing for the same patient-consultation workflow, though at much larger scale.

Others

• Eisai (epilepsy franchise): Global pharmaceutical company with a major epilepsy and dementia portfolio (e.g., Aricept, Fycompa). KOD's co-founder previously worked at Eisai and the firms collaborate on epilepsy awareness; Eisai acts as a strategic ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor but is relevant for understanding the epilepsy market KOD serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/knock-on-the-door

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Knock on the Door