What SRL Japan does

SRL Japan is a clinical reference laboratory, founded in 1970 and headquartered in Tokyo, that provides diagnostic testing services to medical institutions across Japan. A subsidiary of H.U. Group Holdings and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section since 2001, SRL operates a national network of more than 80 laboratories supported by 1,500 couriers and 45 sales branches, processing roughly 400 million tests per year from over 10,000 healthcare facilities. The company holds approximately 80% market share among large Japanese hospitals (300+ beds) and around 70% of the chromosome testing market, operating Japan's largest cytogenetics facility since 1995.

The company's core offerings span routine clinical chemistry, immunology, microbiology, histopathology, cytogenetics, and increasingly advanced genomic profiling for oncology, including the Fujinokuni HOPE Oncopanel system (funded March 2026). Technical infrastructure includes the PLANET NEXT middleware integrating 140+ analyzers with 30+ electronic health record vendors, dual-arm robotics for laboratory automation, AI-assisted G-banding karyotyping in production since 2018, and next-generation sequencing capabilities on Olink and NovaSeq platforms. Quality and data credentials include ISO 15189, CAP (first Japanese lab accredited in 1987), CLIA, ISO 27001, ISO 14001, GLP, and PrivacyMark (first in Japan, 2005), with court-accepted DNA paternity testing reinforcing institutional trust.

SRL's business model is a B2B per-test service: specimens are collected from hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical sponsors, and research institutions via courier network, analyzed in SRL laboratories, and results are returned through integrated EHR and reporting channels. As of March 31, 2026, the company employed 1,443 full-time staff and 920 temporary staff, supported by approximately 300 sales personnel. Revenue is generated across clinical diagnostics for healthcare providers, central laboratory services for pharmaceutical clinical trials, and specialized testing segments expanded through intra-group entities such as SRL Medisearch (merged January 2025) and joint ventures including Sapporo Mirai Laboratory (2021) and Medisket (2022).

Name

SRL Japan

Legal name

株式会社エスアールエル

Website

https://srl-group.co.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

SRL Japan is a Tokyo-based clinical reference laboratory founded in 1970, subsidiary of H.U. Group Holdings, that performs roughly 400 million diagnostic tests annually for over 10,000 Japanese medical facilities through 80+ labs, 1,500 couriers, and 45 sales branches.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Laboratory Testing Services

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Reference & Esoteric Testing Laboratories (HLAFAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clinical Biomarker Testing Services (central labs, trial enrollment/monitoring assays) (HLAAAMAC), Central Laboratory & Clinical Trial Testing CROs (HLAGAAAE), Molecular Diagnostics & Genomics Laboratories (HLAFAMAE), Genetic & Prenatal Testing Laboratories (HLAFAMAH)

Keywords

• Clinical laboratory testing
• Medical diagnostic services
• Esoteric genetic testing
• Clinical trial central lab
• Laboratory information systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices27 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Clinical Laboratory Testing Services: SRL receives clinical specimens from medical institutions (hospitals and clinics) on behalf of their patients, performs analyses using advanced technologies, and reports test results. Revenue is generated through fee-per-test arrangements, covering general testing, esoteric/specialized testing, and emergency testing services.
2. Health Checkup and Wellness Services: SRL handles health examination specimens and provides optional test proposals, urgent health checkup result reporting, and operational optimization for health examination institutions, corporations, and health insurance societies.
3. Clinical Trial (CRO) Services: SRL provides centralized laboratory services for pharmaceutical clinical trials including project management, specimen testing, kit preparation, specimen pick-up, storage, and data management. Supports Phase I–III trials, bioequivalence studies, and post-marketing studies. Revenue is generated through contracted service fees per protocol.
4. Hospital/Clinic Management Consulting and Software Services: SRL provides branch/FMS (Facility Management Services), electronic medical record integration services (PLANET NEXT®, MY PLANET®), and operational consulting for laboratory management. Revenue includes software/system service fees, consulting fees, and potentially subscription components for clinic workflow tools like 医's アシスト.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SRL Japan operates an outsourced clinical laboratory testing business, receiving specimens from hospitals and clinics and performing analyses across biochemistry, hematology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, and pathology disciplines. The company runs a nationwide network of 20+ laboratories processing 200,000+ specimens daily from 10,000+ medical institutions, delivering approximately 400 million test results annually. It complements testing with LIS/EHR integration software (PLANET NEXT®, SIRIUS-NEXT®), clinical trial central lab services, next-generation sequencing, and cancer genomic profiling.

Product overview

SRL Japan operates a multi-layered portfolio centered on clinical laboratory testing services augmented by a suite of IT platforms and specialized research offerings. The core business is clinical specimen testing (general, emergency, and esoteric), delivering over 400 million test results annually from a nationwide network of 20+ laboratories to 10,000+ hospitals and clinics. The product portfolio is anchored by PLANET NEXT®, a clinic-facing EMR/LIS integration platform that provides automated specimen labeling, analyzer connectivity (140+ devices), and consolidated result viewing. This platform connects to subsidiary tools: MY PLANET® for cloud-based remote result access, NaviBox® for intranet test reference data, and WEB-SPEEDY for hospital LIS connectivity. For paperless clinics, SIRIUS-NEXT® provides an iOS tablet-based test ordering app. For patient engagement, 医's アシスト (I's Assist) is a DX platform enabling appointment management, web intake forms, and direct result delivery via the With Wellness PHR app. The BC・ROBO 7 automated tube preparation device integrates with PLANET NEXT® to eliminate manual labeling. Research offerings include next-generation sequencing (WGS, RNA-seq, Olink proteomics, 16s microbiome), cancer genomic profiling (NCC OncoPanel, Guardant360, FoundationOne), companion diagnostics, and clinical trial services through a dedicated GxP-compliant central lab with full CRO capabilities. Supporting services include hospital branch/FMS operations, specimen logistics (集助くん app), BCP-focused LADEUXR LIS, and the public-facing SRL Test Directory. All offerings are backed by ISO 15189, CAP, CLIA, and GLP certifications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SIRIUS-NEXT®: Tablet-based test requisition application for paperless test ordering at clinics
• PLANET NEXT®
• MY PLANET®
• 医's アシスト
• LADEUXR
• H.U. Bioness Complex
• NaviBox®
• WEB-SPEEDY
• SIRIUS NEXT®
• 集助くん
• SRL Medisearch

Products and services

• Clinical Testing Services (臨床検査サービス) Outsourced clinical specimen testing for hospitals, clinics, and health examination institutions covering general, emergency, specialized, and esoteric testing (biochemistry, hematology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, genetics, genomics). SRL processes 200,000+ specimens daily from 10,000+ facilities, delivering ~400 million test results per year with same/next-day turnaround.
• PLANET NEXT®
• MY PLANET®
• SIRIUS-NEXT® (シリウスネクスト) iOS tablet application enabling paperless test requisition at clinics without EMR systems. Supports touchscreen test item selection, clinic-customizable interfaces, barcode-labeled specimen tubes, and digital history retrieval for repeat orders.
• NaviBox® (ナビボックス)
• WEB-SPEEDY
• 医's アシスト (I's Assist)
• LADEUXR
• 集助くん (Shūjoku-kun)
• Branch/FMS Services (ブランチ・FMSサービス)
• Clinical Trial Testing Services (治験検査サービス) Central laboratory services for pharmaceutical clinical trials including project management (Phase I-III, bioequivalence, post-marketing), specimen testing, kit preparation, specimen pick-up, -80°C storage, biomarker/PK/PD analysis, and the CRAD web portal for result access with bilingual Japanese/English display.
• Cancer Genomic Profiling Tests (がんゲノムプロファイリング検査)
• Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) Services (次世代シークエンス解析サービス)
• Multi-site Collaborative Research Support (多施設共同研究支援)
• Medical Association Clinical Testing Center Support (医師会臨床検査センター支援)
• SRL Test Directory (総合検査案内)

Quantifiable outcome

• 400 million tests/year processed across nationwide network
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration14 records

AI capability4 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Koei System (株式会社ケーアイエス)supportingTechnology or IntegrationSRL collaborates with Koei System on a cloud-based test result utilization support service for medical association clinical testing centers. Koei System provides the healthcare information exchange platform supporting standardized medical and health data, enabling SRL to deliver test results to regional medical coordination systems.
• Electronic Medical Record (EHR) Vendors (Multiple)coreTechnology or IntegrationSRL has established EHR integration partnerships with major Japanese electronic medical record vendors including: Ainetsystems, EM Systems, M3 Digital Care, CMS, Shimadzu, Dynamics, PHC (Medicom), Labotech, and others. PLANET NEXT® enables bidirectional data exchange between SRL's test services and hospital/clinic EHR systems.
• Analyzer Manufacturers (30+ companies, 140+ models)coreTechnology or IntegrationPLANET NEXT® integrates with over 30 analyzer manufacturers covering more than 140 different analyzer models across blood, biochemistry, immunology, urine, and other testing disciplines. This enables SRL to connect clinic workflow systems regardless of the equipment manufacturer used.
• Illumina, Inc.supportingTechnology or IntegrationSRL uses Illumina® equipment for next-generation sequencing services including NovaSeq™ 6000 for whole genome sequencing, RNA sequencing (Illumina® Stranded mRNA Prep), and DNA sequencing library preparation (TruSeq™ DNA PCR-Free, Illumina® DNA PCR-Free Prep).
• Olink ProteomicssupportingTechnology or IntegrationSRL provides proteomics analysis services using Olink® Explore 3072 and Olink® Explore HT platforms, enabling detection of up to 5,416 proteins from serum/plasma samples for research applications.
• Myriad Genetics, Inc.supportingTechnology or IntegrationSRL provides MyChoice® diagnostic system testing (for ovarian cancer and prostate cancer) in partnership with Myriad Genetics. The testing service assesses HRD (Homologous Recombination Deficiency) status for ovarian and prostate cancer treatment decisions.
• Athena Diagnostics (U.S.)supportingTechnology or IntegrationSRL refers specialized neurological, muscular disease tests and tumor-related tests to Athena Diagnostics (U.S.) for measurement. SRL acts as the intermediary Japanese laboratory for these specialized tests.
• GHI (U.S.)supportingTechnology or IntegrationSRL provides GHI genetic testing services developed by GHI (U.S.), including breast and colon cancer recurrence risk prediction and treatment effectiveness prediction for chemotherapy regimens.
• MediPal Holdings / Medisket CorporationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2022, Medipal Holdings and H.U. Group Holdings established Medisket Corporation as a joint venture in the medical/healthcare logistics field. SRL, as part of H.U. Group, participates in this logistics collaboration for medical supplies.
• Sapporo Clinical Laboratory Inc. / Sapporo Mirai Laboratory Inc.supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2021, SRL and Sapporo Clinical Laboratory Inc. established Sapporo Mirai Laboratory Inc. as a joint testing laboratory, and Sapporo Medicarry Inc. as a joint specimen collection/logistics company, to strengthen testing services in the Hokkaido region.
• Japan Red Cross Society / Central Blood CentersupportingOthersSRL cooperates with the Japan Red Cross Society's Central Blood Center for bone marrow bank operations. After the center performs HLA matching between donors and recipients, SRL conducts confirmatory testing including 18 test items for donors (blood health, HLA testing, infectious disease screening) and HLA testing for recipients.
• Japan Eye Bank Association (公益財團日本眼球銀行協會)supportingOthersSRL performs pre-transplant infectious disease testing for cornea donors on behalf of approximately 50 eye banks nationwide affiliated with the Japan Eye Bank Association, contributing to cornea transplant safety with same-day reporting.
• Fujirebio Inc. (富士レビオ)supportingOthersSRL co-founded the Clinical Laboratory Medicine Research Promotion Fund with Fujirebio Inc. (originally as part of the fund's establishment in 1988). Both companies are trustees of this public fund supporting young researchers in clinical laboratory medicine.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Fujirebio Inc. Fujirebio is a sister company of SRL within H.U. Group, specializing in in-vitro diagnostic reagents and immunoassay development. As a fellow group subsidiary and reagent supplier/partner, it represents an adjacent enabling player in the clinical diagnostics ecosystem.
• Medipal Holdings Corporation: Medipal Holdings is a major Japanese pharmaceutical and medical distribution company that partnered with H.U. Group to establish Medisket Corporation (medical logistics JV). As a distribution and supply partner, it is an adjacent ecosystem participant relevant to SRL's reagent and supply chain operations.
• H.U. Group Holdings: H.U. Group Holdings is the publicly traded parent company of SRL, also encompassing Fujirebio (in-vitro diagnostics), Nihon Stery (medical devices), and other healthcare businesses. While not a peer, it provides context on SRL's corporate structure and strategic positioning.

Direct peers

• Quest Diagnostics: Quest Diagnostics is the largest U.S. clinical laboratory services company, providing routine, esoteric, and anatomic pathology testing with similar business model, CAP/CLIA certifications, and clinical trial central lab services — a relevant international comparable for SRL's scale and operations model.
• BML Inc. BML Inc. is Japan's second-largest clinical laboratory testing services company, directly competing with SRL across general, specialized, and genetic testing for hospitals and clinics, with a similar nationwide specimen collection network and central laboratory infrastructure.
• LSI Medience Corporation: LSI Medience is a major Japanese clinical laboratory and clinical trial testing company (owned by Mitsui & Co.), providing a broad range of clinical diagnostics, esoteric testing, and CRO services to medical institutions — directly comparable to SRL's core businesses and serving the same hospital/clinic customer base.
• Laboratory Corporation of America (Labcorp): Labcorp is a leading global clinical laboratory network with central lab services, esoteric testing, and clinical trial testing capabilities — a direct U.S. comparable for SRL's reference laboratory, clinical trial central lab, and integrated diagnostics business model.
• Sonic Healthcare: Sonic Healthcare is a global clinical laboratory and pathology services company operating across Australia, Europe, and the U.S. — directly comparable to SRL in its reference laboratory model, nationwide specimen logistics network, and multi-national clinical trial central lab services.

Broad incumbents

• Sysmex Corporation: Sysmex is a global leader in in-vitro diagnostics and clinical laboratory equipment manufacturing, with growing clinical testing services in Japan. As a major analyzer vendor partnered with SRL through PLANET NEXT integrations, it represents both a key supplier and a broader competitor in lab services.
• Eurofins Scientific: Eurofins Scientific is a global leader in bioanalytical and clinical laboratory testing services, including pharmaceutical clinical trial central lab services — comparable to SRL's clinical trial central lab franchise and NGS/proteomics research offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about SRL Japan