Premedica

What Premedica does

Premedica (株式会社プリメディカ) is a Tokyo-based preventive healthcare company founded in 2010 as NK Medico and rebranded under its current name in April 2021. The company develops and distributes biomarker-based diagnostic tests that predict disease risk before symptoms appear, with a portfolio anchored by LOX-index® (a blood test measuring LOX-1 and sLOX-1 protein concentrations to generate a 10-year risk score for cerebral infarction and myocardial infarction), Flora Scan® (an intestinal flora profiling service classifying gut microbiomes into five Japanese-specific enterotypes using a proprietary 1,803-subject database developed jointly with Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and Setsunan University), and the Prodrome® series covering Alzheimer's disease (plasmalogen biomarkers), colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer risk. The technology stack combines PCR-based 16S rRNA gene sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform, QIIME2 bioinformatics pipelines, and statistical risk scoring against clinical reference cohorts.

The company operates a multi-product preventive healthcare platform organized around four interconnected pillars: testing services, medical data, R&D, and social implementation. Revenue is generated through multiple channels: B2B sales to medical institutions and health examination organizations (4,100+ relationships established), B2B research services for pharmaceutical and food companies (16S rRNA sequencing and fecal organic acid analysis), B2B consulting for health examination organizations facing operational challenges, B2B corporate wellness services under the 'Well-being Management' umbrella, and a direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel launched in June 2026 via the Premedica Shop. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medipal Holdings Corporation, a major Japanese pharmaceutical wholesaler, which provides strategic and distributional backing. Leadership transitioned in April 2026 with Tanaka Tomohide (formerly CFO, with prior experience at INCJ, J-Will Partners, and Boston Consulting Group Japan) assuming the President and CEO role. The company has earned multiple awards including Good Design Award 2023, 5th Japan Open Innovation Award, and Health Management Excellence Corporation 2026 certification.

Name

Premedica

Legal name

株式会社プリメディカ

Website

https://premedica.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Premedica is a Tokyo-based preventive healthcare company that develops and distributes biomarker-based diagnostic tests—including LOX-index, Flora Scan, and the Prodrome cancer/dementia risk series—to medical institutions, health examination organizations, and consumers in Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Preventive Healthcare Diagnostics

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Genetic, Cytogenetic & Prenatal Screening IVD (HLAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Release Testing & Batch Certification (QC) (HLAGADAC)

Keywords

• Preventive healthcare diagnostics
• Cardiovascular risk screening
• Gut microbiome analysis
• Cancer risk blood test
• Biomarker testing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Diagnostic Testing Services (検査サービス): Premedica provides multiple diagnostic testing services including LOX-index, Flora Scan, Prodrome series, and other preventive healthcare tests to medical institutions, health examination organizations, and directly to consumers. Revenue is generated on a per-test basis through institutional orders and direct consumer purchases.
2. R&D Testing Services (研究開発・測定サービス): Contracted research and testing services for pharmaceutical companies, food manufacturers, and research institutions, including 16S rRNA gene analysis and fecal organic acid analysis. B2B research service revenue generated per project or contracted testing arrangement.
3. Health Examination Organization Consulting (健診機関コンサルティング): Consulting services for health examination organizations facing operational challenges including medium-to-long-term business planning, M&A support, HR strategy, and branding. Revenue generated through consulting engagement fees.
4. Well-being Management Services (Well-being経営): Services under the 'Well-being Management' umbrella, including industrial physician communication support (産業医コミュニケーションズ), addressing employee health management needs for corporate clients.
5. Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce (プリメディカショップ): Online direct sales of diagnostic test kits and related products through the official Premedica Shop e-commerce platform, accepting credit card, Square payment, Amazon Pay, and cash on delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Premedica provides preventive medical diagnostic testing services covering cardiovascular disease (LOX-index®), gut flora (Flora Scan®), dementia (Prodrome-AD®), cancer (Prodrome-CRC®, Prodrome-PAC®, ProtoKey®), and liver disease (HepaSign®) risk assessment. Tests are sold B2B to medical institutions, health examination organizations, pharmaceutical and food companies, and corporate clients, and B2C through the Premedica Shop e-commerce site, employee benefit platforms, and catalog gift services. The company also provides contracted 16S rRNA sequencing and fecal organic acid analysis research services and consulting for health examination organizations and corporate well-being programs.

Product overview

Premedica operates a multi-product preventive healthcare platform organized around four interconnected pillars: testing services, medical data, R&D, and social implementation (社会実装). The core portfolio centers on biomarker-based risk screening tests — led by LOX-index® for cardiovascular risk, Flora Scan® for gut flora profiling, and the Prodrome® series (Prodrome-AD®, Prodrome-CRC®, Prodrome-PAC®, ProtoKey®) for cancer and dementia risk — supplemented by a direct-to-consumer EC shop, a mobile results app, and research-only sequencing services. On the demand side, the company provides Well-being Management consulting for corporations and consulting services for health screening institutions, completing a flywheel model from test supply through data utilization and clinical/social deployment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• プリメディカショップ: Official EC site selling the company's health testing products and services directly to consumers.

Products and services

• LOX-index® (脳梗塞・心筋梗塞リスク検査) Blood test measuring serum LOX-1 and sLOX-1 concentrations to generate a quantified 10-year risk score for stroke and myocardial infarction, supporting early preventive intervention for medical institutions, health examination centers, and individual consumers.
• Flora Scan® (腸内フローラ検査サービス) Gut flora testing service that classifies individual intestinal flora into five Japanese-specific enterotypes and correlates results with risks for metabolic and inflammatory diseases, using a proprietary database of 1,803 annotated Japanese subjects built in collaboration with Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and Setsunan University. Used by hospitals, health examination centers, pharmaceutical/food R&D clients, sports teams, and individual consumers.
• Prodrome-AD® (アルツハイマー型認知症発症リスク検査) Blood test measuring plasmalogen concentration in blood to assess Alzheimer's disease onset risk, targeting cognitively healthy individuals for early preventive action. Sold to medical institutions, health examination organizations, and individual consumers.
• Prodrome-CRC® (大腸がんリスク検査) Blood-based colorectal cancer risk assessment using tumor markers and biochemical indicators to identify at-risk individuals before clinical symptoms appear, for medical institutions and consumer preventive screening.
• Prodrome-PAC® (すい臓がんリスク検査) Blood-based pancreatic cancer risk screening service targeting early detection in asymptomatic individuals, leveraging biomarker panels associated with pancreatic pathology, offered to medical institutions and consumers.
• ProtoKey® Colorectal and Pancreatic Cancer Risk Tests Blood-based cancer risk tests for colorectal and pancreatic cancer, offered as research and clinical screening tools for medical institutions and corporate health programs.
• HepaSign® 肝疾患リスク検査 (Liver Disease Risk Test) Blood-based liver disease risk assessment service evaluating hepatitis and hepatic fibrosis markers to identify at-risk individuals for liver disease progression, offered to medical institutions.
• うんちぇっく (Unchi-ekku) — Children's Gut Health Test Children's intestinal health test co-developed with the Unko Drill brand, designed to assess gut environment in pediatric subjects and educate families on child gut health, sold to parents via Premedica Shop and partner channels.
• ココシル (Cocoshiru) Wellness/health management product and service in the preventive healthcare portfolio, providing tools and solutions for individual health monitoring.
• 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and Fecal Organic Acid Analysis Service (腸内環境解析サービス) Research-use-only gut microbiome sequencing service targeting the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene using Illumina MiSeq with QIIME2 bioinformatics analysis; delivers fastq files, OTU tables, and optional PDF subject reports to pharma, food, and academic clients, plus fecal organic acid analysis.
• Premedica Shop (プリメディカショップ) — Direct E-commerce Platform Consumer-facing e-commerce platform at shop.premedica.co.jp selling diagnostic test kits and health products directly to individuals, supporting Amazon Pay, Square, credit card, and cash on delivery payments with delivery within Japan.
• Well-being Management (Well-being経営 / 産業医コミュニケーションズ) Corporate well-being management consulting service supporting occupational health doctors in employee health strategy, worksite health promotion, and Health Management Declaration / Excellence Corporation programs for Japanese corporate clients.
• Health Examination Organization Consulting Service (健診機関向けコンサルティングサービス) Consulting service for health examination organizations addressing operational challenges including declining per-examination fees, low checkup rates, staffing shortages, medium-to-long-term business planning, M&A support, HR strategy, and branding optimization.

Quantifiable outcome

• LOX-index cumulative test recipients reached 500,000 (April 2022), with over 1,700 participating medical institutions as of March 2020
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor, major and core.

• うんこドリル (Unko Drill)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026Popular children's educational brand that collaborated with Premedica on the 'Uncheck' (うんちぇっく) child gut health test, combining Unko Drill's brand recognition with Premedica's Flora Scan expertise for children's intestinal health assessment.
• 広島東洋カープ (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026Professional baseball team participating in the Gut Power Project (GUT POWER PROJECT), a gut conditioning initiative jointly promoted with Nomura Dairy and Premedica since 2026. Players undergo Flora Scan testing to support nutrition and conditioning management. The program continues into the 2026 season.
• 野村乳業株式会社 (Nomura Dairy Co., Ltd.)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026Dairy product company participating in the Gut Power Project (GUT POWER PROJECT) together with Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Premedica. Aims to connect gut health with food products for athlete conditioning.
• 大阪府枚方市 (Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture)minorOthers · 3 June 2022Flora Scan adopted as a hometown tax (ふるさと納税) donation reward by Hirakata City, enabling city residents to access gut health testing as part of local health promotion initiatives. Mayor Fukui received a courtesy visit from company representatives.
• 京都府立医科大学 (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 June 2021Three-way joint research partner with Setsunan University and Premedica for gut microbiome database development. Faculty members Dr. Tomohisa Takaki and Dr. Yuji Naito collaborate on Flora Scan research and present findings at academic conferences. Published paper on Japanese gut microbiome profile in Microorganisms journal (March 2022).
• 摂南大学 (Setsunan University)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 June 2021Academic partner and origin of Flora Discovery subsidiary. Professor Ryo Inoue (井上亮) from the Department of Applied Bioscience, Faculty of Agriculture serves as the Academic Advisor and developed the unique gut microbiome measurement technology licensed to Flora Discovery. Jointly developed the Japanese gut microbiome database.
• 株式会社フローラディスカバリー (Flora Discovery Corporation)coreOthers · 23 June 2021Premedica's consolidated subsidiary established as a Setsunan University venture. Acquired technology from Professor Ryo Inoue for gut microbiome pre-processing and analysis. Operates the Flora Scan® intestinal flora inspection service and maintains the Japanese gut microbiome database. Led by President Tomoya Yamagishi.
• 株式会社DONUTS (DONUTS Inc.)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 23 June 2021DONUTS operates the 'Clinic开业ナビ' (Clinic Opening Navi) platform supporting medical clinic startups. Premedica's LOX-index is featured under 'testing services and equipment' on this platform to facilitate easy introduction for new clinic openings.
• 株式会社RESVO (RESVO Inc.)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Mental health-focused biotech company with whom Premedica signed a patent license agreement to develop a urine test service for quantifying mental stress. Premedica is working toward commercialization of this test with support from Shimane University research findings.
• 関西医科大学健康科学センター (Kansai Medical University Health Science Center) / コガソフトウェア株式会社 (Koga Software Co., Ltd.)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 July 2020Developed the 'Ouchi de Doctor Support' (おうちdeドックサポート) online lifestyle improvement guidance service, combining ICT and cognitive behavioral therapy. Premedica partners to provide comprehensive support from testing through lifestyle improvement.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Sysmex Corporation: Global Japanese leader in hematology and IVD instruments/reagents serving hospitals and reference labs worldwide. Comparable as a Japan-headquartered IVD franchise; significantly larger and broader than Premedica's preventive niche.
• LSI Medience Corporation: Japanese clinical testing and diagnostic services provider (part of M3/SONY/SRL ecosystem). Comparable as a domestic lab offering clinical and specialty diagnostics to medical institutions.
• BML, Inc. Major Japanese clinical reference laboratory serving hospitals and clinics nationwide with routine and specialty diagnostics. Overlaps with Premedica on lab-based diagnostic service delivery to medical institutions.
• Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd. Long-established Japanese IVD manufacturer of clinical chemistry and immunology reagents used in medical institutions. Comparable as a domestic IVD scale player; differs by being reagent-focused rather than direct preventive test services.
• Tauns Laboratories, Inc. Japanese IVD company focused on infectious disease and immunology diagnostics distributed through medical channels. Comparable as a domestic specialty-IVD player, though narrower in therapeutic area than Premedica's portfolio.
• SRL, Inc. (H.U. Group): One of Japan's largest commercial clinical laboratories offering a broad routine and specialty testing menu to medical institutions. Comparable to Premedica on lab-based diagnostics distribution into the same hospital and clinic base, though focused on standard clinical chemistry rather than preventive risk screening.

Emerging players

• bitBiome, Inc. Japan-based microbiome biotech with proprietary single-cell microbial analysis technology. Partially comparable to Premedica on microbiome analytical capability and life-science research services to pharma customers.
• Metabologenomics, Inc. Japanese microbiome and metabolomics research services company providing gut microbiome and metabolome analysis to academic and industry clients. Comparable to Premedica on contract 16S rRNA and related microbiome research service offerings.

Direct peers

• Riken Genesis Co., Ltd. Japan-based genetic testing laboratory offering clinical and research genetic diagnostics to medical institutions. Comparable to Premedica on genetic/molecular IVD testing services distributed through Japanese hospitals, though focused on human genetic disease rather than microbiome.
• Cykinso, Inc. Japan-based direct-to-consumer gut microbiome testing service. Most direct comparable to Premedica's Flora Scan, competing for the same Japanese consumer and institutional gut-health screening demand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/premedica_jp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCkKJbUkPpO5V9Bk8E3w5aDw
• Facebookfacebook.com/loxindex
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/premedica

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Premedica