Japan-based pharmaceutical firm Taiho Pharmaceutical revealed on Tuesday that it has created a corporate venturing division named Taiho Ventures that will operate from California in the US.
Taiho Ventures has been equipped with $50m in initial funding and was officially established on April 15 run by Sakae Asanuma, former president and CEO of Astellas Venture Management.
The unit will make investments worldwide, focusing on startups in the US, Europe and Japan that are working on cancer-related technologies and treatments.
Potential areas of investment include drug-enabling platforms and treatment developers, as well as companies that could support the work of the fund’s parent company are of particular interest. It will also seek out strategic partnerships to accelerate the translation and commercialisation of research.
Taiho previously supplied $30m to US-based venture capital firm Remiges’ BioPharma Fund in 2014, to invest in US and Europe-based biotech startups in an effort to support the corporate’s research and development.
Taiho Pharmaceutical is a subsidiary of healthcare conglomerate Otsuka Group, which is made up of 178 companies.