A wealth of data is strength. The database of the intestinal Flora test is expected to exceed 100,000 by 2023.
First of all, please tell us about your business.
Mr. Saikinsaw Murakami: Through the intestinal Flora test "Mykinso", we are conducting a business that visualizes intestinal bacteria living in the large intestine and provides advice on lifestyle habits.
If you pick up your stool at home using the test kit obtained at online shopping or medical checkup options, put it in the attached reply envelope and mail it, you will receive it to the Shinkiba lab. Over the course of about three weeks, we analyzed the intestinal bacteria contained in the stool, and said, "Your intestinal bacteria contain such bacteria, so let's improve these lifestyle habits." It's like issuing a test result report.

What inspired you to work on this project?
Mr. Saikinsaw Murakami: Our company was founded in 2014, and Sawai (Yu-sama) was previously enrolled in a genome venture company.
Saikinsaw Lake: A device that automatically reads genes is called a "sequencer", but a long time ago, it had only the ability to read genetic information of about 1 to 100 kinds of bacteria overnight. However, around 2005, a device called the "next generation sequencer" was developed, and its ability jumped up to 100,000 to million times at once, so to say, "You can read millions of information about bacteria overnight."
Mr. Saikinsaw Murakami: Since then, the intestinal microbiome has attracted attention in the academic field, and I have heard that Saikinsaw was founded because of the desire to lead to health care services tailored to individuals and disease prevention by analyzing the intestinal microbiome, which has different mediums and balances for each person.
Saikinsaw Lake: Currently, thousands of specimens are delivered to Saikinsaw Shinkiba Lab per month, and the database of bacterial flora is worth more than 80,000. We expect it to exceed 100,000 by the end of 2023.

We were able to accumulate such data because we were able to quickly work on the intestinal Flora analysis business.
Mr. Saikinsaw Murakami: Yes. The abundance of this data is also the strength of Cykinsaw. The large population of data increases the accuracy of evaluation verification.
Saikinsaw Lake: Shanai engineers are also responsible for building databases, so the point is that you can consistently do everything from inspection to data analysis to management within the company. You can also respond flexibly to changes in service content.
By the way, in January 2023, we started providing anonymous processing information on intestinal microflora data for 9,147 people, so-called data sale service. This provided data can be used as data for "people who do nothing (healthy people)" that can be compared with "people who have a specific disease" or "people who have taken a specific food" in clinical tests such as medical, healthcare, and food. In other words, it also helps to advance "human clinical tests" that tend to be large-scale.
There are not many rental labs in Tokyo that are within walking distance of the station and have no restrictions on the occupancy period.
It seems that you joined the company after you decided to move into Mitsui Link Lab Shinkiba 1.
Saikinsaw Lake: Yes. However, since I joined the company as the person in charge of the lab from the beginning, I am participating in specific preparations such as joining LINK-J.
When selecting the lab, Mr. Aya Takeda, our director, told us that we chose Mitsui Link Lab Shinkiba 1 after considerable consideration and trial and error. Among them, the good access was the decisive factor. Certainly, with the scale and enhancement of such a rental lab, there are not many facilities in Tokyo that are within walking distance of the station. Thanks to this, it is easy to get back and forth with our headquarters in Yoyogi.
He seems to have also considered rental labs of public institutions, but there are many places where there is an upper limit on the occupancy period, so he seems to have wanted to avoid being tied under such conditions. On the other hand, I heard that Mitsui Link Lab has plenty of space for companies that are already resident to expand their floor space. Isn't it a great advantage to be able to sit down and work on the business and have a prospect for expanding the business?


Because both the lab and the facilities were available, we were able to disseminate information with a story.
How do you feel about Mitsui Link Lab Shinkiba 1?
Saikinsaw Lake: When launching the lab, it was very helpful to have a waste disposal and white coat cleaning company introduced at Mitsui Link Lab. From such details, for example, we have been trial and error in everything from helping young companies such as our company to connect with other companies at exchange meetings, etc., and I feel that you are always thinking about "what kind of service should there be?"
How about buildings and facilities?
Saikinsaw Lake: Cafe lunch is popular with lab staff as well as employees coming from the head office. There are not many restaurants around the land, so I was prepared for a convenience store lunch before moving in, but now I take care of the cafe almost every day. It is popular not only with residents but also with people around the area, so it's a little troublesome that there are days when it can be sold out immediately (laughs).
Mr. Saikinsaw Murakami: From a public relations perspective, I feel that the combination of labs and facilities has a high synergistic effect in terms of information dissemination. At the time of the opening of the lab, I made a press release here, but because it was a site of the lab, not a so-called rental space, it became a story, and in a perfect environment as a presentation venue, the reactions of press and investors were also good.
Since there is this place and space, it would be nice if there was an opportunity to interact not only with companies but also with local people. For example, during summer vacation, you can participate as a family member and create a tour package for the "Intestinal Flora Study Group", which is also a free study for your child. It is a difficult project depending on the location of the lab, but I think Mitsui Link Lab Shinkiba 1 will surely be realized in a good way.

While pursuing the quality of the intestinal Flora test, I would like to work on "new tests" and "health promotion" beyond that.
How do you plan to develop your business at Mitsui Link Lab Shinkiba 1 in the future?
Mr. Saikinsaw Murakami: Since we have set up such a laboratory in our own company, we would like to invest firmly in R&D and create something that can be used in clinical practice with clear evidence for specific diseases.
On top of that, we would like to expand not only bacteria in the intestines but also the bacteria species to be analyzed. For example, from the analysis of bacteria in the mouth that can be understood from saliva, I would like to work on approaches that can not be understood by bacteria in the intestine alone.
From these developments, do you say that we will gain our own position, or we want to increase more and more what we can do because we have a lot of data.
Saikinsaw Lake: Fortunately, there is also a science concierge at Mitsui Link Lab, and there is also a service to support the creation of new collaborations with universities for new research and projects. And personally, I would like to focus on the solution part at the end of the inspection. Seeing the results of the test, not the end, so that we can also provide support to work on improvement. Earlier, I said, "From inspection to data management at once," but I would like to be involved in "integration from inspection to improvement efforts," including beyond that, in the future.