New $200 million fund to boost Japanese biotech innovation

US-Japan venture capital firm AN Venture Partners has wrapped up its first fund at $200 million, marking one of the largest biotech funds focused on Japan to date. The new vehicle, called AN Venture Partners I, is backed by over 20 limited partners, including Japanese drugmakers Shionogi and Otsuka Pharmaceutical.

The fund will support early-stage biotech companies grounded in Japanese science, with a strategy that spans preclinical ideas to later-stage clinical development.

ANV said it also intends to play an active role in building new companies from scratch and will remain open to global opportunities where relevant. Other key investors include Japan Investment Corporation, MUFG Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.