Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 4519) announced that its corporate venture capital (CVC) subsidiary in the U.S.A., “Chugai Venture Fund, LLC” (CVF) finalized establishment of a $200M venture fund based in the Boston area, MA with a well-experienced head in key position at CVC of a major global pharmaceutical company and will start investment activities Q1 2024.
Chugai aims to expand its core R&D competencies, improve the quality of R&D outputs, and continuously create innovations by strengthening open innovation. The CVF will play an important role in Chugai. The team will consist of four experts led by John Gustofson. John served as a Managing Director of CVC for many years in the former global pharmaceutical company and has extensive CVC experience in the Boston area, an innovation hub. The start of full-scale CVF activities will strengthen access to the earliest technologies and knowledge in the U.S.A. and Europe. Beginning with the J.P. Morgan 42nd Annual Healthcare Conference in the U.S.A. in January 2024, CVF will conduct investment activities looking for companies working on new and emerging areas of science.
“We are very pleased that Chugai Venture Fund will be able to start full-scale investment activities next month. With John Gustofson as the head of CVF with an experience of key position at CVC of a Global Pharma, we aim to further accelerate Chugai’s proprietary drug discovery engine in the Boston area, an innovation hub,” said Chugai’s President and CEO, Dr. Osamu Okuda. “Open innovation is one of the key drivers of Chugai’s growth strategy toward 2030, TOP I 2030. Collaborating with prominent companies and organizations possessing cutting-edge sciences and technologies, we will strive to contribute to the health of people worldwide through the creation of new value by combining our company’s strengths.”
