Craif's over-the-counter test reaches all 47 prefectures two years after its retail debut, with 22 drugstore and pharmacy groups named as sales partners.
Craif Inc., a bio-AI startup working on early cancer detection, said today that miSignal, its urine-based cancer risk test, is now carried at more than 4,000 drugstores and pharmacies across Japan. As of December 5, 2025 the test is on sale in all 47 prefectures, and it can be bought over the counter without a doctor's visit, a referral, or a blood draw.
miSignal first went on sale in drugstores and pharmacies in December 2023. Craif says retail placement expanded rapidly from last year onward, passing 4,000 locations as of December 5, 2025 and reaching all 47 prefectures, which gives the test national distribution.
Why drugstores are stocking a cancer risk test
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan. With healthcare costs rising and the sustainability of the public insurance system in question, preventive health education has become an important role for drugstores and pharmacies to carry. Demand is growing year over year for products and services people can act on themselves without going to a medical institution.
miSignal needs only a urine sample. It is painless and carries no dietary or medication restrictions, which the company says substantially lowers the psychological and time barriers to testing and makes it something a customer can pick up in the store. Craif attributes the growth in retail placement to the fit between those features and what drugstore operators say they want, described in the Japanese release as giving customers an environment where they can act from the moment they notice a concern.
Retail and pharmacy sales partners
The Japanese release names the following miSignal sales partner companies. It labels the list a partial selection, ordered by Japanese kana:
- Amano
- Ohga Pharmacy
- Kyorindo Pharmacy
- Cawachi
- Qol
- Kusuri no Fukutaro
- Zag Zag
- Sapporo Drug Store
- Shinseido Pharmacy
- Sugi Holdings
- Sugiyama Pharmaceutical
- Seki Pharmacy
- Sogo Medical
- Chiba Yakuhin
- Chubu Yakuhin
- Tsuruha
- Tsuruha Group Drug and Pharmacy West Japan
- Tomod's
- Drug Eleven
- Drug Store Mori
- Pharma Mirai
- Ladydrug
About the miSignal series
The miSignal series is a set of cancer risk tests aimed at prevention and early detection. It consists of miSignal Scan, which uses microRNA and AI to assess risk across 10 cancer types including pancreatic cancer; miSignal Light, a simpler risk assessment; miSignal Navi, a cancer-focused genetic test; and miSignal Check, which monitors DNA damage. Every test in the series requires only a urine or saliva sample, so testing puts no physical burden on the user. Craif describes the four tests together as a comprehensive approach: knowing your constitutional risk, monitoring day to day DNA damage to support prevention, and catching early the cancers that prevention does not stop.
About Craif
Craif is a bio-AI startup founded in 2018 that works on early cancer detection. It combines AI with its own analytical platform, NANO IP (NANO Intelligence Platform), which detects a range of biomarkers including DNA and microRNA from biofluids such as urine, to develop tests intended to make very early cancer detection, early treatment, and an early return to daily life possible. Craif's stated vision, in its own English wording, is to help people live longer, healthier lives.
Company details
- Company: Craif Inc.
- Representative: Ryuichi Onose, Representative Director
- Founded: May 2018
- Business: research and development of next-generation tests for early detection of disease and personalized medicine, centered on cancer, and provision of the miSignal urine cancer risk test
- Headquarters: THE PORTAL iidabashi B1F, 8-30 Shin-Ogawamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
URL: https://craif.com/
Important information about miSignal
The miSignal series is not a medical device. It determines risk by statistically calculating analyzed information. It does not replace a diagnosis, which is a medical act, of whether a person has cancer, and a result indicating low risk does not mean that cancer is absent or that the person will not develop cancer in the future.
