FUJIFILM launches life sciences strategic investment fund focused on emerging companies with high impact biotechnology

TOKYO, February 10, 2022 – FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO, Representative Director: Teiichi Goto) announces the launch of its life sciences strategic investment fund managed by the Life Sciences Corporate Venture Capital (LS-CVC), a newly established group within the Fujifilm’s Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters in Tokyo. Fujifilm is initially investing 7B\ (about 60 million USD[1]) to start the fund, targeting cutting-edge biotechnology primarily through partnerships with early-stage companies around the world.

In addition to this new fund, the LS-CVC is also taking the company’s prior life science investment portfolio under management, which had been already made in the fields of regenerative medicine, cell therapeutics and drug discovery research products. Fujifilm is considering a wide range of new and innovative business constructs in order to cultivate and foster relationships with emerging biotechs to create new, and strengthen existing, businesses.

In April 2021, Fujifilm established the Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters to plan and promote a comprehensive, integrated strategy to accelerate business growth in the life sciences field. The Headquarters currently manages several business divisions within the fields of biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing, iPS cell-derived products for drug and discovery research markets, and industrial cell culture media. The Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters will spearhead the placement of this fund considering Life Science Divisions’ strategic business alignment and development timeline. 

As part of the Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters, FUJIFILM Life Science Strategic Business Offices in the United States (Cambridge) and in Europe (Dusseldorf) will take on the significant role of approaching early-stage biotech companies who possess cutting-edge biotechnologies and know-how, and will develop the funding deals for partnership with Fujifilm.

“In the field of life sciences, research and development of new technologies and application of biotechnologies have been accelerated to deliver solutions for unmet medical needs and other societal issues, such as food and environmental problems,” said Takatoshi Ishikawa, General Manager of Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters. “In many cases, early-stage companies are the first to develop cutting-edge technologies and innovative business models. I believe LS-CVC activities will enable us to speedily develop new partnerships with such promising companies, and to deliver value to society through innovative products.”