Craif Inc. (Location: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Ryuichi Onose, hereinafter referred to as “Craif”) has entered into a joint study agreement with Medical Corporation Omiya City Clinic (Location: Saitama, Chairman: Takashi Nakagawa, hereinafter referred to as “Omiya City Clinic”). With the conclusion of this agreement, Craif and Omiya City Clinic (Principal Investigator: Ryo Nakagawa) will begin a joint study to “Explore Biological Substances Such As Urinary microRNA (miRNA) Associated with Health Conditions, and Occurrence/recurrence of Diseases for Cancer etc.”

■ Outline of the Study
　miRNA are small functional nucleic acids consisted from 20-25 nucleotides, which has been reported to associate with various diseases including cancer (*1). More than 2000 types of miRNA have been discovered from humans, and part of those are excreted in urinary. Hence, urinary miRNA are said to be a possible biomarker for diseases (*2)  and biological age (*3) . Craif is developing non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for various diseases, including cancer, by using its distinctive technology to efficiently catch miRNA. By utilizing specimens and clinical information from a wide range of age groups and case backgrounds obtained through this joint study, the research and development of non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers will be accelerated.

■ Outline of Omiya City Clinic
　Omiya City Clinic aims to “create guidelines for lifelong health” by providing a wide range of medical treatments from medical checkups to general care. In order to provide ideal medicine to every patient, all of our staff are making continuous efforts to make respectful communication with patients. 
　We also value the spirit of hospitality and aim to create a better environment from the examination room to the waiting room. In terms of the facilities, we hope to be a clinic where patients can feel warmth not only by  introducing the latest medical equipment, but also by providing coziness to patients.

Source: 
(*1) Jiang Q et al. miR2Disease: A manually Curated Database for microRNA Deregulation in Human Disease. Nucleic Acids Res. (2009) 37: 98-104.
(*2) Hammond, S. M. (2015). An Overview of microRNAs. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 87, 3-14.
(*3) Huan, T., Chen, G., Liu, C., Bhattacharya, A., Rong, J., Chen, B.H., Seshadri, S., Tanriverdi, K., Freedman, J.E., Larson, M.G. and Murabito, J.M. (2018). Age Associated microRNA Expression in Human Peripheral Blood is Associated with All Cause Mortality and Age-related Traits. Aging Cell, 17(1), e12687.