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Saisei Ventures today announced the launch of Bridge-to-Biotech, a new initiative designed to support Japanese founders and entrepreneurs...


Saisei Ventures Launches Bridge-to-Biotech Venture Creation Initiative

The Kyushu Biotech Innovation Symposium, taking place on February 2, welcomes leaders from across industry, government and academia, including the Governor of Fukuoka Prefecture, for a program focused on recent initiatives in biotech venture creation and ecosystem development. Attendees will also tour the newly opened F-Labs at Kyushu University Hospital. Register to join us!

Kyushu Biotech Innovation Symposium 2026

Saisei Ventures, a leading investment firm focused on advancing Japanese biotechnology and therapeutic innovations, today announced a collaboration with Kyushu University...

Saisei Ventures Announces Collaboration with Kyushu University to Advance Life Science Ventures and Cultivate Talent in Western Japan

To the role, Mr. Feliciano brings more than 20 years of experience as a pharmaceutical executive in Japan.

Saisei Ventures Appoints James Feliciano as Venture Partner

 Optieum Biotechnologies Inc. (“Optieum”), a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing innovative CAR-T cell therapies, today announced the appointment of Dr. Sheila Singh, M.D., PhD, FRCSC...

Optieum Biotechnologies Appoints Dr. Sheila Singh as Clinical Advisor to Advance OPTF01 Clinical Strategy

Kenai Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering next generation approaches to cure neurological conditions, today announced that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) awarded...

Kenai Therapeutics Receives $8M Grant from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to Advance RNDP-001 for Treatment of Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

Kenai Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering next generation approaches to cure neurological conditions, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 1 REPLACE™ clinical trial...

Kenai Therapeutics Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 1 REPLACE™ Clinical Trial of Neuron Replacement Cell Therapy RNDP-001 for Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease 

Selected as a partner for the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW)’s Drug Discovery Ecosystem Development Support Project

Saisei Ventures Selected for Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Program to Boost Japan’s Global Drug Discovery Startups

Structured mentorship program pairs global biotech leaders with Japanese executives to foster innovation and leadership in Japan's biotechnology sector

Saisei Ventures Launches Executive Fellows Program Aiming to Enhance Japan’s Biotech Leadership Pipeline

Leading epigenome company Tune Therapeutics is proud to announce that veteran drug-development executive John McHutchison AO, MD will be its new CEO and Chairman of the Board...

Tune Therapeutics Names John McHutchison as CEO and Chairman of the Board

Kenai Therapeutics today announced the establishment of the Company’s research and laboratory facilities at Lilly Gateway Labs (Gateway Labs) in San Diego, which is operated in partnership with Alexandria Real Estate Equities...

Kenai Therapeutics Establishes Research Facility at Lilly Gateway Labs

Leading epigenome editing company Tune Therapeutics (Tune) today announced the completion of over $175M in financing led by New Enterprise Associates, Yosemite, Regeneron Ventures and Hevolution Foundation...

Tune Therapeutics Completes Over $175M in Series B Financing to Advance Field-Leading Epigenome Editing Programs

Dr. Kili will leverage his expertise and international network to drive the investment, development and growth of pioneering ventures, with a focus on fostering innovation within Japan's biotechnology ecosystem 

Saisei Ventures Announces the Appointment of Dr. Sven Kili, MD, as Partner

Leading epigenetic therapy company Tune Therapeutics announced today that it will begin a clinical trial in Hong Kong after receiving a Certificate for Clinical Trial from the Hong Kong Department of Health...

Tune Therapeutics Receives Approval to Initiate Clinical Trial in Hong Kong for HepB Epigenetic Silencer

TUNE-401 will be the first epigenetic therapy to enter clinical trials for an infectious disease

Tune Therapeutics, Hepatitis, Epigenetic

Tune Therapeutics Moves into Clinical Spotlight with TUNE-401: A First-in-Class Epigenetic Silencer for Hepatitis B

Kenai Therapeutics today announced the formation of a Patient Advisory Board (PAB) comprised of leading experts and advocates in Parkinson’s disease. Members of the PAB bring firsthand experiences and understanding...

Kenai Therapeutics Establishes Patient Advisory Board 

United Immunity develops its proprietary active targeting pullulan lipid nanoparticle (LNP) selective to myeloid cells as its Myeloid Targeting Platform.

United Immunity enters into a Research Collaboration Agreement with AstraZeneca

Proceeds to be used to complete clinical proof-of-concept trial for lead candidate, RNDP-001, for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Kenai Therapeutics Announces $82 Million Series A Financing to Advance Next Generation Allogeneic Cell Therapies for Neurological Diseases

 Data shows deep repression of HBV both in primary cells and ‘gold standard’
 humanized mouse model 

Tune Therapeutics Presents First Data Supporting TUNE-401: a First-in-Class Epigenetic Silencer for Hepatitis B

Saisei Ventures is pleased to announce a new investment in United Immunity, a biotechnology company developing proprietary tumor-associated-macrophage-selective nanoparticles.

Saisei Ventures Invests in United Immunity, Co., Ltd., to Develop New Cancer Immune-Therapeutics Using Proprietary Immune Cell-Selective Delivery Technology

Saisei Ventures is pleased to announce the signing of two letters of intent and will launch a new Special Opportunities co-investment fund.

Saisei Ventures Enters into Letters of Intent with Healios and will Launch a Special Opportunities Co-Investment Fund

Method targets the epigenome, makes no changes to the underlying DNA sequence. First example of lasting repression after transient epi-editor delivery in a non-human primate.

Tune Therapeutics Unveils Breakthrough Data Showing Stable and Durable Epigenetic Regulation in Non-Human Primates

Saisei Ventures is one of nine VC firms accredited by AMED for funding as part of its Drug Discovery Venture Ecosystem Enhancement Project.

Saisei Ventures is Selected as a Certified VC Fund by AMED to Catalyze the Japanese Drug Development Ecosystem

The genetic tuning innovator adds pioneering genetic medicine expert and an accomplished biotechnology lawyer to its management team.

Tune Therapeutics Strengthens Leadership Team with Addition of Dr. Derek Jantz as Chief Scientific Officer and Zachary Hale as General Counsel

Celaid Therapeutics and Knowledge Palette executed a collaborative research contract. to clarify the characteristics of the cells in cord blood samples.

Knowledge Palette and Celaid Therapeutics executed a collaborative research contract for stable manufacturing and quality control of cord blood-derived cell therapy products

Knowledge Palette and CiRA Foundation executed a collaborative research contract to analyze iPS cells and iPS cell-derived differentiated cells of the CiRA Foundation.

Knowledge Palette and CiRA Foundation Executed a Collaborative Research Contract to Evaluate and Improve Quality of iPS Cells

Ryne Bio receives $4M grant from CIRM to develop off-the-shelf neuron replacement therapies for neurological disorders using iPSC technology and toward an IND application in the next 12 months.

Ryne Biotechnology Awarded $4 Million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Japan Investment Corporation announced today that it has made a US$ 30 million investment as a limited partner in Saisei Ventures' flagship fund, Saisei Bioventures, L.P.

LP Investment by Japan Investment Corporation in Saisei Bioventures, L.P. and new appointment

FDA grants DiscGenics RMAT for Injectable Disc Cell Therapy, accelerating treatment development for lumbar degenerative disc disease.

DiscGenics Announces FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) Designation Granted to IDCT for Degenerative Disc Disease

Discogenic progenitor cell therapy safely increased disc volume and provided rapid, durable improvements in low back pain, function, quality of life, and pain medication usage out to two years post-injection in patients with lumbar DDD. 

DiscGenics Announces Positive Two-Year Clinical Data from Study of Discogenic Progenitor Cell Therapy for Degenerative Disc Disease

Tune Therapeutics Welcomes Noted Industry Leader Dr. John McHutchison to Board of Directors

Optieum Biotechnologies and GI CELL have entered into a Research License and Option Agreement on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-NK Cell Therapy. This agreement will unite GI CELL’s CAR-NK technology platform and Optieum’s novel scFv antibodies against hematological tumor targets.

Announcement of Research License and Option Agreement with GI CELL

Optieum Biotechnologies has entered into a research collaboration agreement with the National Cancer Center Japan (“NCC”) to initiate multiple projects to discover and develop innovative CAR-T cell therapy assets targeting solid tumors.

Optieum Biotechnologies and National Cancer Center Japan Signed Joint Research Agreement on Solid Tumor Targeting CAR-T Cell Programs

Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners and Knowledge Palette have entered into a collaborative research contract on gene expression analysis for drug-resistant cancer.

Axcelead DDP and Knowledge Palette Enter into a Collaborative Research Contract on Gene Expression Analysis Concerning Drug-Resistant Cancer

Craif will start offering “Remote Cancer Test,” a home-completed test. At the same date, three additional cancer types (Pancreatic, Colorectal, and Esophageal) will be added to the lineup.

Craif Announces New Product in “miSignal®️” Series, “Remote Cancer TestTM” with Adding Three Additional Cancer Types (Pancreatic, Colorectal, and Esophageal) to the Lineup

Craif signed a loan agreement with MUFG Bank, Ltd. totalling JPY 1.52 billion.

Craif Signs Term Loan Agreement with Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Ltd. Totalling JPY 1.52 Billion

Craif started offering lung and stomach cancer test through medical institutions as part of the “miSignal®️” series, a cancer risk screening test for early-stage cancer detection using urinary microRNA.

Craif Launches Lung and Stomach Cancer Test from “miSignal®️” Series which Enables Early-stage Cancer Detection Using Urinary miRNA

Craif will start offering a Breast cancer test through medical institutions as part of the “miSignal®️” series, a cancer risk screening test for early-stage cancer detection using urinary microRNA

Craif Launches Breast Cancer Test from “miSignal®️” Series Which Enables Early-stage Cancer Detection Using Urinary miRNA

Craif announced that the number of medical institutions that have installed “miSignal®︎,” a cancer screening test for early detection of cancer risk based on urinary microRNA.

The Number of Medical Institution Installing miSignal®️, a Cancer Risk Screening Test, Achieves 200

Craif Signed a Term Loan Agreement with Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Ltd. Totalling JPY 1.52 Billion

CureApp entered into a license agreement with Sawai Group Holdings Co., Ltd. for the development and marketing of a DTx solution for NASH (Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis).

CureApp, Inc. and Sawai Group Holdings Co., Ltd. enter into a development and marketing license agreement for a DTx*1 solution in the NASH field

"Strategic growth investment in CureApp to support the rollout of its hypertension app and advance its new development pipeline, as digital therapeutics gain traction in Japan".

Carlyle to Acquire a Significant Minority Stake in CureApp, a Leading Prescription Digital Therapeutics Provider in Japan

Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Knowledge Palette, Inc. announced that the companies have entered into an agreement to expand the research collaboration aiming to build a data-driven new drug discovery platform using Knowledge Palette’s large-scale transcriptome analysis technology.

ONO and Knowledge Palette Enter into an Agreement to Expand Research Collaboration on Building a Data-driven New Drug Discovery Platform

Scientific Advisor & Co-Founder of Craif, Takao Yasui, introduced  “Urinary MicroRNA-based Early Cancer Detection Using Nanowire-based Devices” in European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) hosted and maintained by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

Craif’s Scientific Advisor & Co-Founder Yasui Introduces “Urinary MicroRNA-based Early Cancer Detection Using Nanowire-based Devices” in EUON

CureApp was notified by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on April 26, 2022 that the company had received the medical device regulatory approval of an digital therapeutic app for Hypertension.

"World’s First Medical Device Regulatory Approval of Digital Therapeutic App for Hypertension "

DiscGenics announced that it has completed enrollment in its Japanese safety study of IDCT, an allogeneic, injectable Discogenic Cell therapy for lumbar disc degeneration, a major cause of chronic low back pain.

DiscGenics Completes Patient Enrollment in Japanese Clinical Study of Cell Therapy for Disc Degeneration as US Study Achieves One-Year Follow-up Milestone

Knowledge Palette executed a collaborative research contract with Maruho Co., Ltd. to identify biomarkers linked with alopecia areata (“AA”) by our single-cell transcriptome analysis.

Knowledge Palette executed a collaborative research contract with Maruho Co., Ltd.

Craif started offering a ovarian cancer test from 1st February through medical institutions as part of the “miSignal™” series, a cancer risk screening test for early-stage cancer detection using urinary microRNA.

Craif launches “miSignal™” series which enables early-stage cancer detection using urinary miRNA.

Knowledge Palette executed a collaborative research contract with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for developing a new data-driven drug discovery method through integrative analysis of whole transcriptome data and morphology image data of human cells.

Knowledge Palette Executed a Collaborative Research Contract with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation on Data-Driven Drug Discovery

World-leading researchers and venture-builders found company to mine the new frontier of epigenomics and unlock complex disease. Unique TEMPO platform tunes gene expression without altering DNA, revealing disease drivers and generating optimized therapeutics that alter cell function.

Tune Therapeutics Launches with Pioneering Epigenomic Control Platform to Master Gene Networks, Treat Broad Range of Diseases

Saisei Bioventures, L.P. a venture capital fund focused on generating attractive returns by investing in and building next-generation companies in the regenerative medicine industry is established. A major sovereign wealth fund investor in Asia has agreed to commit capital to the Fund and will invest alongside Healios.

Healios establishes Saisei Ventures - New regenerative medicine venture capital fund

Craif announced that it has conducted a private placement of new shares led by Daiwa Corporate Investment Co., Ltd. and backed by Aflac Ventures LLC, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. and MTG Ventures, Inc. Craif plans to raise additional finance and complete its Series B funding round within this fiscal year.

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