A Meeting Point for Asian Startups and U.S. Investors Shonan Health Innovation Conference (SHIC) Held in Boston for the First Time Connecting Asian Startups with U.S. Investors for Further Advancements in Health Innovation

Press Release

Oct 30, 2024
iPark Institute Co., Ltd.

A Meeting Point for Asian Startups and U.S. Investors
Shonan Health Innovation Conference (SHIC) Held in Boston for the First Time
Connecting Asian Startups with U.S. Investors for Further Advancements in Health Innovation

●  iPark Institute helps Japanese and Asian startups open up funding sources overseas.
●  Improve transparency of Japan’s investment environment, which has become a black box for foreign investors, and promote exchanges.
●  The first event will be held in Boston, U.S.A., on Wednesday, December 4. 18 Japanese and South Korean startups will participate.

iPark Institute Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture; CEO: Toshio Fujimoto; hereafter known as “iPark Institute”) will hold its first Shonan Health Innovation Conference (hereafter known as “SHIC”) on December 4 to connect promising Asian startups with influential overseas investors, especially from the United States, in order to further advance health innovation from Asia.

Large-scale financing is essential for startups to conduct R&D rapidly. Overseas, where the supply of risk capital is abundant, startups are able to raise large sums of money from the early stages of their development, and new technologies can be developed quickly. On the other hand, funding from domestic financial institutions and companies is often relatively small, making it imperative for domestic startups conducting global R&D to partner with foreign investors.

Therefore, the iPark Institute provides an opportunity for Asian startups to showcase their appeal and a forum to improve the transparency of the domestic investment environment, which is difficult for foreign investors to understand, thereby helping startups raise funds and foreign investors to invest in Japan.

1 [2024] Venture Capital Investment Trends in the Healthcare Industry: download form here.

About the 1st SHIC
Wednesday, December 4, 2024 in Boston (local only)
The first event will be held in Boston, the home of the startup ecosystem.

[Features]
1. Participation of leading U.S. VC firms
For Asian startups, it is difficult even to make contacts with leading U.S. venture capital firms (VC, an organization that invests in and supports promising venture companies). At SHIC, result-proven US VCs requested to participate in advance by iPark Institute will come together.
2. Increase the willingness to invest in Asia by introducing promising bio ventures
The Asian startups participating in the program will be companies that meet specific criteria set by the iPark Institute. By improving the quality of companies introduced to U.S. VCs, we will increase investment momentum in Asia.
3. Content that conveys the appeal and changes in Japan’s startup ecosystem
Japanese ministries and companies will inform us about Japanese biotech investment environment changes. We will also invite representative entrepreneurs who are developing Japanese research into business overseas to introduce their models and discuss the significance of establishing a research base in Japan and the benefits of fostering seeds originating from Japan. This will be an opportunity for U.S. VC investors interested in Japan and Asia to reconsider their investments in Asia.

[Program]
Morning session: Individual matching of selected Japanese and South Korean startups (approximately 20 companies) with U.S. VCs
Afternoon session: Keynote speech explaining the investment environment in Asia
(Pharmaceutical executives, entrepreneurs with R&D operations in Japan and the U.S.)
Speakers (in order of presentation)
Hirokazu Shimoda, Director, Bioindustry Division, Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Hideyuki Takahashi, Vice Director, JETRO New York Office
Andrew Plump, MD, PhD
President, Research & Development, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.
Michael E. Mendelsohn, MD
Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Cardurion Pharmaceuticals.
Daniel Kemp, PhD
Chief Executive Officer, Shinobi Therapeutics Inc.
Evening: Reception

[Sponsor]
KJR Management Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Incubate Coalition Japan

On the occasion of the first SHIC, Toshio Fujimoto, CEO of iPark Institute, said, “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to host the first SHIC. We are holding the SHIC in Boston to inform foreign investors that there are many great technologies in Japan and that Japan is open to foreign investment. iPark will work with foreign investors to explore and support ways to take that Japanese technology, and by extension Asian technology, to the global stage.

About iPark Institute Co., Ltd.
iPark Institute Co., Ltd. was established in 2023 with Industrial & Infrastructure Fund Investment Corporation (IIF), Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda), and Mitsubishi Corporation as major shareholders. It took over the management of Shonan Health Innovation Park (Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture) in 2023, which Takeda has been responsible for since 2018. For more information about our company, please click here.

About Shonan Health Innovation Park (Shonan iPark)
Shonan iPark is Japan’s first pharmaceutical-initiated science park, created by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in April 2018 by opening its own research laboratories to the outside world. Currently operated by iPark Institute Co., Ltd. independent of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, the park aims to become a place where industry, government, and academia from a wide range of industries and sizes can come together to accelerate health innovation. Currently, the ecosystem is comprised of not only pharmaceutical companies, but also companies and organizations in nextgeneration medicine, cellular agriculture, AI, and government, with approximately 190 companies and more than 2,500 people (as of October  2024).

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For the latest information on tenants and member companies at Shonan iPark, click here.

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For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact:
iPark Institute Co., Ltd., Communications
Attn: Takizawa, Tsukahara
Mail: iPi.PR@shonan-ipark.com