Koichi Ashida

Megakaryon Corp. operates as an pluripotent stem cells research laboratory. It produce platelets and red blood cells from iPS cell lines, and to develop blood products that do not depend on blood donations. The firm specializes in development of technologies to produce and store induced pluripotent stem cell derived human T cells. Megakaryon was founded by Genjiro Miwa on September 9, 2011 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

NapaJen Pharma, Inc. develops drug delivery technology solutions through cellular transport pathways. Its products include lead platform and drug delivery. The firm specializes in the development of novel drug delivery systems by utilizing natural transport pathways whose cells are used to move molecular cargo into themselves and across internal compartments. The company was founded by Dr. Kazuo Sakurai and Hironori Ando in December 2004 and is headquartered in Burlingame, CA.

The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a unique public-private partnership aimed at promoting innovation and enhancing the value of businesses in Japan, was launched in July 2009. Leveraging the rich history of Japanese technological prowess, the INCJ aims to provide financial, technological and management support in order to promote the creation of next-generation businesses through 'open innovation,' or the flow of technology and expertise beyond the boundaries of existing organizational structures. The INCJ will draw on funding as well as management and technological expertise from the public and private sectors. The INCJ is actively reviewing various investment opportunities in areas of environment and energy, electronics and IT, bio-tech, and infrastructure such as water supply, railway service, and nuclear power supply. Each investment will be thoroughly vetted to ensure it meets the exacting standards of the INCJ's Innovation Network Committee, which will make the final investment decisions. The INCJ is capitalized at 92 billion yen, with the Japanese government injecting 82 billion yen and 19 private corporations (refer to details in Appendix below) providing a further 10 billion yen. The government will also provide guarantees up to a total of 800 billion yen for INCJ investments, giving it an investment capability of approximately 900 billion yen (US$10 billion). The INCJ will be established for a period of 15 years.

KBI Biopharma, Inc. provides drug development and contract manufacturing services. It helps client partners accelerate and optimize drug development and manufacturing programs by offering an extensive suite of expert development and manufacturing services. The firm offers services to global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and academic and non-profit organizations. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Durham, NC.

Atonarp, Inc. provides chemical analysis solutions and systems. The firm develops the Smart Spectrometer technology that focus on industrial gas process analytics applications in the energy, pharmaceutical, petrochemical and semiconductor industries. The company was founded by Tomoyoshi Sato and Prakash S. Murthy in November 2009 and is headquartered in Minato-Ku, Japan.

Fast Track Initiative, Inc. (FTI) is a Venture Capital firm, a subsidiary of Life Science Management, Inc. founded in 2004 by Koichi Ashida and Hiromichi Kimura. Fast Track Initiative, Inc. is headquartered in Tokyo with additional office in the Unites States.

SCOHIA PHARMA, Inc. is a drug discovery venture that focuses on lifestyle-related diseases. The company is based in Fujisawa, Japan. The Japanese company has a strong development pipeline and an experienced R & D team that specializes in drug discovery, including compound creation, drug efficacy evaluation, and clinical development. The CEO of the company is Masanori Watanabe.

Create Vaccine Co., Ltd. is a holding company that engages in the research and development of vaccines. The firm specializes in the development and marketing of vaccines for tuberculosis. The company was founded on July 31, 2013 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan.

AQUA Therapeutics Co., Ltd. develops therapeutic drugs focused on the treatment of ophthalmological diseases. It uses a nucleic acid interference platform aimed at gene targets of select diseases. The firm's technologies include diabetic retinopathy, Periostin, and Bonac nucleic acid. It also offers research, development, manufacture, and marketing of other pharmaceuticals; non-medicinal products and cosmetics; and medical devices, instruments, and equipment. The firm also conducts medical research and consulting services. The company was founded by Kazunori Yoshikawa on March 19, 2012 and is headquartered in Kobe, Japan.