Kainos Laboratories

What Kainos Laboratories does

Kainos Laboratories, Inc. (株式会社カイノス) is a Japanese in vitro diagnostic (IVD) reagent manufacturer founded in 1975 and headquartered in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, with a manufacturing and R&D campus in Kasama, Ibaraki. The company develops, manufactures, and distributes clinical diagnostic reagents and analyzers across four technology platforms — biochemistry, immunology, genetics (including isothermal NASBA nucleic acid amplification licensed from bioMerieux), and point-of-care immunochromatography — under proprietary brands such as Aqua-auto Kainos, LATECLE, Statmark, Swiftgene, and ADAMTS13-act ELISA. Kainos also holds the exclusive Japanese distribution rights for Grifols SA's blood transfusion testing systems (Erytra analyzers and DG Gel cards), which is a material channel for the firm.

The company sells primarily B2B to Japanese medical laboratories, hospitals, and blood transfusion centers through five regional sales offices (Sapporo, Sendai, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima), supplemented by an online shop (kainos-lab.com) for international research-use reagents. Pricing on disclosed SKUs is at the unit level (e.g., the FGF-23 ELISA Kit at ¥120,000 per 96-test kit). Capital stock is ¥831.4M and headcount was 158 as of April 1, 2026. Following a public tender offer conducted by Flowers Co., Ltd., Kainos was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market in June 2026 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Denka Co., Ltd., transitioning from a publicly traded independent specialist to a private operating unit within the Denka Group.

Name

Kainos Laboratories

Legal name

KAINOS Laboratories, Inc.

Website

https://kainos.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kainos Laboratories is a Japanese in vitro diagnostic reagent manufacturer (founded 1975, ~158 employees) serving clinical laboratories, hospitals, and blood banks across four platforms — biochemistry, immunology, genetics, and POCT — and distributing Grifols blood-transfusion equipment in Japan. Now a wholly owned Denka subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

In Vitro Diagnostics / Clinical Diagnostic Reagents

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

IVD Reagents, Assay Kits & Consumables (Non-instrument) (HLAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes) (HLAGAIAI)

Keywords

• Clinical diagnostic reagents
• In vitro diagnostics
• Point-of-care testing
• Biochemical reagents
• Blood transfusion testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Diagnostic Reagent Sales: Development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents, and related chemical products. Includes biochemical reagents, immunological reagents, genetic reagents, POCT reagents, controls and calibrators, and COVID-19 test reagents.
2. Medical Equipment Sales: Development, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and import/export of physical and chemical measurement instruments and medical supplies, including blood transfusion testing equipment from Grifols.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kainos Laboratories develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes clinical diagnostic reagents and related medical devices across four technology platforms: biochemistry (Aqua-auto Kainos automated analyzer reagents), immunology (FGF-23 ELISA, LATECLE PCT, ADAMTS13-act ELISA), genetics (NASBA-based Swiftgene molecular diagnostic kits, EXTRAGEN nucleic acid extraction kits), and point-of-care testing (Statmark FLUstick II, Statmark Strep A immunochromatographic tests). The company also serves as the Japan distributor for Grifols SA blood transfusion diagnostic instruments (Erytra/Erytra Eflexis) and DG Gel cards, and sells COVID-19 detection kits, controls, and calibrators to medical laboratories, hospitals, and blood banks.

Product overview

Kainos Laboratories is an independent Japanese in vitro diagnostic reagent developer and manufacturer established in 1975, operating across four core technology platforms: biochemistry, immunology, genetics, and POCT (Point of Care Testing). The company manufactures and distributes its own branded products (FGF-23 ELISA, LATECLE PCT, ADAMTS13-act ELISA, NASBA kits, Aqua-auto biochemical reagents, Statmark rapid tests) as well as reselling/transacting Grifols (Spain) blood transfusion instruments and reagents under the DG Gel Kainos series. The portfolio includes high-complexity automated reagents (CRE-Ⅳ, ALB, UN-II) for central labs, specialized immunodiagnostic reagents for rare diseases, isothermal molecular diagnostics (NASBA-based Swiftgene products for norovirus, food pathogens), and rapid point-of-care tests (influenza, strep A, COVID-19). The company also distributes third-party products (Nichirei Bio COVID-flu combo, WanTai antibody test) and provides comprehensive quality control materials. Distribution is exclusively B2B through medical distributors; an online shop serves international research reagent customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Statmark: Point of care testing (POCT) immunochromatographic reagents for detecting influenza viruses, Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci, and other pathogens.
• Swiftgene
• Aqua-auto Kainos
• LATECLE
• EXTRAGEN
• DG Gel

Products and services

• Aqua-auto Kainos CRE-III Test Kit

Quantifiable outcome

• High sensitivity FGF-23 detection: minimum detection limit of 3 pg/mL
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor, core and historical.

• Sysmex CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2022Capital and business tie-up to further enhance mutual business relationship. Strategic collaboration combining Kainos' diagnostic reagent expertise with Sysmex's broader diagnostics portfolio.
• Gene Therapy Research Institution Co., Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Capital tie-up by accepting part of third-party allotment of shares to support gene therapy research activities.
• Asahi Kasei Pharma CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019Share transfer agreement to further enhance mutual business relationship. Previous technical tie-up agreement in 1993 on clinical examination reagents.
• Grifols SAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 September 2011Distributorship agreement for blood transfusion diagnostics products. Kainos distributes Grifols products including Erytra automated transfusion testing systems and DG Gel cards in Japan.
• Immucor, Inc.historicalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2005Joint venture agreement for blood banking business. Kainos BB, Co. Ltd. was spun out and renamed Immucor-Kainos, Inc. through joint venture. Stocks later transferred entirely to Immucor, Inc. in May 2008.
• Nichirei Corporation (currently Nichirei Bioscience Inc.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2004Joint development of influenza detection reagent 'Statmark Influenza A/B'. Kainos contributed NASBA and immunochromatography technology while Nichirei provided complementary capabilities.
• bioMerieuxcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 October 2000License agreement for NASBA (Nucleic Acid Sequence-Based Amplification) Patents. Ownership of the NASBA Gene Amplification patent was transferred from Organon Teknika B.V. to bioMerieux. Kainos also entered a distributorship agreement for genetic products with bioMerieux Japan in May 2004.
• Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (formerly Kirin Beer Co., Ltd.)historicalTechnology or Integration · 1 September 1992Technical tie-up agreement on clinical examination reagents.
• Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.historicalTechnology or Integration · 1 June 1987Technical tie-up agreement on clinical examination reagents.
• Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. (Currently Hitachi Chemical Diagnostics Systems Co., Ltd.)historicalTechnology or Integration · 1 April 1981Technical tie-up agreement on reagents for clinical analysis equipment.
• Mitsui Pharmaceutical Industry Co. (Currently Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd.)historicalTechnology or Integration · 1 December 1976Technical tie-up on enzyme immunoassay method (EIA) established in 1976.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd. Japanese IVD reagent manufacturer with comparable footprint across clinical chemistry, immunology, and molecular diagnostics. Both firms develop and sell proprietary reagent kits for Japanese clinical laboratories and serve overlapping customer segments in hospital and commercial lab channels.
• H.U. Group Holdings (formerly SRL / Miraca Holdings): Major Japanese clinical diagnostics player operating reference laboratories and a proprietary IVD reagent business (SRL). Comparable in targeting Japanese hospitals and clinical labs with specialty testing menus and offering both diagnostic services and reagent products.
• Nichirei Bioscience Inc. Japanese bioscience and diagnostics firm that jointly developed the Statmark Influenza A/B reagent with Kainos. Both companies serve Japanese clinical and research customers with immunological and molecular biology reagent kits, and Nichirei distributes Kainos-developed combo products.
• Fujirebio Holdings (H.U. Group): Japanese in vitro diagnostics specialist with strong chemiluminescent immunoassay and rare-disease testing franchises. Comparable to Kainos in targeting specialty diagnostic niches with proprietary reagent kits reimbursed under Japan's national insurance system.
• Toyobo Co., Ltd. (Diagnostics): Japanese life-sciences company with a clinical diagnostics reagent business (enzyme diagnostics, immunoassays). Comparable as a Japan-based IVD reagent manufacturer serving hospitals and clinical labs with similar product categories.

Broad incumbents

• bioMérieux SA: French global IVD and microbiology diagnostics major. Kainos licenses NASBA patents from bioMérieux and is also a Japan distributor for bioMérieux genetic products, making it both a partner and a comparable in molecular diagnostics reagent development.
• Grifols SA: Spanish global leader in blood transfusion diagnostics. Kainos is Grifols' authorized distributor in Japan for Erytra analyzers and DG Gel cards; the two share a transfusion-diagnostics franchise with comparable reagent portfolios and regulatory positioning.
• Denka Co., Ltd. Parent company of Kainos since June 2026, with adjacent life-sciences and diagnostics businesses. As the acquirer and strategic owner, Denka now shapes Kainos' commercial and R&D direction and serves as both parent and adjacent peer in the Japanese diagnostics market.
• Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation: Japanese pharmaceutical and diagnostics subsidiary of Asahi Kasei. Kainos has a share transfer agreement and long-standing technical tie-up (1993) with Asahi Kasei on clinical examination reagents, and Asahi Kasei competes in adjacent IVD reagent categories.
• Sysmex Corporation: Global leader in hematology and clinical diagnostics with a broad instrument-and-reagent portfolio. Kainos has a capital and business tie-up with Sysmex (2022), and the two collaborate across hematology and clinical chemistry reagent channels in Japan.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Kainos Laboratories