Craif Wins 51st Inoue Harunari Award

Bio-AI startup Craif Inc. has received the 51st Inoue Harunari Award for its 'multi-cancer early detection platform based on urinary microRNA analysis.' This technology, developed from the research of co-founder and technical advisor Takao Yasui (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University), was evaluated for successfully commercializing university-originated research and implementing it in society.

The Inoue Harunari Award, with a history spanning half a century, honors only two technological achievements annually that have contributed to the advancement of science, technology, economy, and welfare in Japan through the commercialization of creative research. Craif was recognized for transforming urinary microRNA analysis technology—rooted in Professor Yasui's basic research—into a cancer detection mechanism accessible to everyone without burden.

The core of this technology is a platform that reads molecular information about cancer from urine—a sample easily collected by anyone—to detect cancer at an early stage with high precision. Urine contains 'extracellular vesicles' released by cells, which carry microRNA molecules that regulate gene function. Cancer cells use microRNA to send information beneficial to their growth and metastasis, creating distinct patterns in urinary microRNA compared to healthy individuals. Craif was founded based on technology that uses nanowires to capture and analyze these urinary microRNAs. By combining this with large-scale databases of biomarkers and clinical data, as well as AI (machine learning), the company established a system to determine cancer risk based on patterns of multiple microRNAs.

Based on this technology, the company has developed an algorithm capable of detecting even pancreatic cancer—often considered difficult to detect early—at initial stages with accuracy exceeding traditional blood tumor markers, through joint research with several medical institutions.

Recently, the company became the world's first to demonstrate the mechanism by which cancer-derived extracellular vesicles are transported into urine via the renal glomerulus, scientifically validating urine as a useful biological source for cancer information.

This technology was commercialized for medical institutions in 2022 and subsequently evolved into 'miSignal,' a cancer risk test completed at home via urine collection and mailing. It is now introduced at approximately 2,500 medical institutions nationwide, offered at over 4,000 drugstores, and has begun being adopted through public funding by local governments. The successful commercialization of university-originated research and its implementation on a nationwide scale were highly praised in this award selection.