Cosomil, Inc.

Cosomil, Inc. (コウソミル株式会社) is a Japanese biotechnology company headquartered in Tokyo that is developing a proprietary "single-molecule enzyme activity-based liquid biopsy" technology. The company's core science uses fluorescent enzyme substrates and microdevices to measure the activity of various enzymes in blood at ultra-high, single-molecule sensitivity. This platform is intended to enable highly accurate diagnostic testing by detecting disease-associated enzyme activity signatures in body fluids such as plasma, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid. Cosomil operates along two main business axes: the development of early disease diagnostic agents and support for pharmaceutical drug development. Its flagship diagnostic effort targets the early detection of pancreatic cancer through a screening test under development, and the company states that it is also pursuing research across multiple cancer types and other diseases. On the drug development support side, Cosomil applies its enzyme activity measurement technology to biomarker discovery, patient stratification, and efficacy evaluation, including as a pharmacodynamic marker shared between humans and animals. The company was founded in April 2022 by Yu Kagami (鏡味 優), who serves as Representative Director, and Shingo Sakamoto (坂本 眞伍), who serves as Chief Technology Officer. Both founders have backgrounds at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, where the underlying single-molecule measurement technology was researched. The leadership team also includes Toshihiro Uno (宇野 寿洋) as Chief Business Officer, who joined in October 2023 with prior experience at Janssen Pharmaceutical and Abbott. Cosomil is supported by scientific advisors in chemistry, engineering, computational science, and clinical biomarker development, several of whom are listed as co-founders. As a privately held, venture-stage company, Cosomil is focused on translating academic research into clinically viable diagnostic products. Its stated mission is to contribute to the advancement of healthcare through single-molecule enzyme activity measurement technology, with a vision of realizing a world where people can detect diseases early and receive effective, personalized treatments. The company has been expanding its operations, including a 2026 announcement of expanding its base to the University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Plaza and changing its registered head office location.

Cosomil, Inc. was founded in April 2022 in Tokyo, Japan, by Yu Kagami and Shingo Sakamoto, both of whom were affiliated with the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The company was established to commercialize a single-molecule enzyme activity measurement technology that had been developed through academic research. Kagami, who earned a Ph.D. in 2016 for research on fluorescent dye development, had worked at the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) in drug review and at Janssen Pharmaceutical in clinical drug development before returning to the University of Tokyo in 2021 to pursue business development for the company's founding. Sakamoto, who earned his Ph.D. in 2021, had been engaged in research on single-molecule measurement liquid biopsy technology since his undergraduate studies at the University of Tokyo Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and decided to pursue social implementation of the technology. He received the Best Award, HAX Tokyo Award, and Mentor Award in the 2020 EDGE-NEXT advanced program on entrepreneurship development. The company's scientific foundation rests on the use of fluorescent enzyme substrates and microdevices to evaluate the activity of enzymes in blood at single-molecule sensitivity. This proprietary approach, which Cosomil calls "single-molecule measurement liquid biopsy," is designed to detect disease-associated enzyme activity signatures in body fluids. The company has stated that its technology has shown potential for the early detection of pancreatic cancer, and it is developing a pancreatic cancer screening test while conducting research across other cancer types and diseases. Cosomil organizes its business into two main pillars: the development of early disease diagnostic agents and support for pharmaceutical drug development. In the diagnostics area, the company is working toward a pancreatic cancer screening test and has conducted research on samples from patients with cancers including lung, colorectal, pancreatic, esophageal, gastric, breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers, as well as healthy subjects and mice. Sample types handled include plasma, serum, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and cell lysates, with measurement typically possible from 1 microliter of body fluid depending on the concentration of the target enzyme. In the drug development support area, Cosomil applies its technology to explore enzyme activity biomarkers, support patient stratification, and evaluate drug efficacy, including as a pharmacodynamic marker common to humans and animals. In October 2023, Toshihiro Uno joined Cosomil as Chief Business Officer. Uno had begun his career at a foreign pharmaceutical company after graduating from a U.S. university, and had served as Marketing Director at Janssen Pharmaceutical and Commercial Operations Director at Abbott, with much of his career spent in oncology across Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. The company is supported by scientific advisors in several fields. Toru Komatsu, a co-founder, is an Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences specializing in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. Rikiya Watanabe, also a co-founder, is a Chief Researcher at RIKEN's Watanabe Molecular Physiology Laboratory and a visiting professor at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, specializing in single-molecule biophysics and bioMEMS. Tadahaya Mizuno is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences specializing in bioinformatics and chemoinformatics. Kazufumi Honda is a Professor at Nippon Medical School Graduate School of Medicine, specializing in tumor biology and biomarker discovery, with prior experience at the National Cancer Center Research Institute and PMDA. By 2026, Cosomil had announced several developments, including the achievement of First Subject In for a feasibility study related to "Enzebar" in March 2026, publication of JST START research results in Cell Biomaterials in May 2026, the launch of an information website for the Enzebar feasibility study in June 2026, and the expansion of its base to the University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Plaza along with a change of its registered head office location in August 2026. The company remains privately held and venture-stage, focused on translating its academic research into clinically viable diagnostic products.

• Cosomil, Inc. founded in Tokyo by Yu Kagami and Shingo Sakamoto

• Toshihiro Uno joins as Chief Business Officer

• First Subject In achieved for Enzebar feasibility study

• JST START research results published in Cell Biomaterials

• Information website for Enzebar feasibility study launched

• Expansion to University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Plaza and change of registered head office location announced

A research-stage Japanese biotech translating University of Tokyo single-molecule measurement science into ultra-sensitive liquid biopsy diagnostics and drug development tools.

• Single-molecule enzyme activity-based liquid biopsy

  Proprietary technology using fluorescent enzyme substrates and microdevices to measure enzyme activity in blood at single-molecule sensitivity.

• Pancreatic cancer screening test

  In development, based on the single-molecule liquid biopsy technology for early detection of pancreatic cancer.

• Enzyme activity biomarker discovery and drug development support

  Services for patient stratification, efficacy evaluation, and biomarker exploration using enzyme activity measurement.

1. 1Cosomil, Inc. – Single-molecule Enzyme Activity-based Liquid Biopsycosomil.com
2. 2About – Cosomil, Inc.cosomil.com
3. 3About – Cosomil, Inc.cosomil.com
4. 4Services – Cosomil, Inc.cosomil.com
5. 5Cosomil, Inc. (Japan) – Wikidatawikidata.org