One of the largest Japan focused biotech funds to date
SAN FRANCISCO & TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AN Venture Partners (ANV), a global biotech venture capital firm, today announced the final close of its first fund, AN Venture Partners I, LP, achieving its target of USD200 million (JPY29 billion), one of the largest Japan-focused biotech venture capital funds to date, and also one of the largest first-time biotech venture capital funds raised in the past year.
More than 20 Limited Partners (LPs) have invested in the fund, led by Japan Investment Corporation, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., MUFG Bank, Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Ken Horne, Managing Partner of ANV, said: “We are delighted to announce the successful close of our first fund at a record level and we want to thank all of our investors and advisors for their support. In particular, I want to thank my fellow investment partners Ari Nowacek, Takashi Futami, and Jun Hashimoto for all their effort and hard work.”
“We made our first investment in December 2023,” he continued, “and everything we are seeing confirms our initial hypothesis that Japan represents an untapped source for innovative science. By identifying, investing and developing biotech companies based upon Japanese science into global success cases, ANV hopes to produce strong returns for its investors and to make a significant impact on growing the Japanese biotech ecosystem.”
ANV was founded in 2022 in alliance with ARCH Venture Partners, one of the leading venture capital firms in the global biotechnology field.
ANV will invest across all stages, from pre-proof-of-concept to advanced clinical stages, and sources, whether academia, big pharma spin-outs or combinations thereof, in biotech and biotech-related fields. The fund is interested in all modalities and disease spaces that can have significant clinical impact. ANV will focus on science originating in Japan but can invest globally as well. Given the current ecosystem in Japan, ANV will often take an active role in company-creation and work hand-in-hand with the founders to build global biotech companies.
To date, the firm has invested in seven companies, including Capacity Bio, Typewriter Therapeutics, City Therapeutics, and Imbria Pharmaceuticals. City Therapeutics successfully completed a significant series A round and announced important strategic collaborations with large global pharma companies. Typewriter Therapeutics has been selected by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) as a recipient of the “Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem” and has gained access to financial support to expedite its development. A further three companies are currently in stealth mode.
In addition to making its own investments, ANV is also working to advance the Japanese government’s flagship policy of establishing the country as a leader in the field of biotechnology by 2030. In accordance with this initiative, the firm has been officially accredited as a certified venture capital by AMED.
The ANV team is also collaborating with leading academics at major Japanese universities, the Cabinet office and a number of other government agencies to promote development of the biotech ecosystem in Japan.
It has also brought the Science-to-Startup (S2S) event from the US to Japan, holding a successful first event in November 2024 that attracted almost 200 scientists, entrepreneurs and investors. The initiative aims to bridge cutting-edge life science research with practical applications. It strengthens Japan’s biotech ecosystem by connecting researchers with global venture capital firms and creating opportunities to present commercialization ideas to investors and pharmaceutical companies.
About AN Venture Partners
ANV is a Tokyo and San Francisco-based multi-stage, global biotech venture capital firm specializing in bridging innovative science from Japan with the US start-up ecosystem. AN Venture Partners I, LP is a USD200 million fund that closed in June 2025. The firm was established in 2022 by a group of experienced venture capitalists from Japan and the United States, who have a wealth of experience building start-ups. ANV is committed to strengthening Japan’s biotech ecosystem and founded initiatives such as Science2Startup Japan to accelerate ecosystem growth. For more information, please visit www.an.vc.
Appendix:
Fund Overview
Fund Name: AN Venture Partners I, LP
Fund Size: USD200 million (approx. JPY29 billion)
- Backed by more than 20 Limited Partners (LPs)
Fund Term: 10 years (launched December 2023)
Investment Focus:
- Sector: Biotechnology and related fields
- Stage: Pre-seed to advanced clinical stages (flexible, stage-agnostic)
- Geography:
- Japanese startups or science-driven innovations from Japan
- Global startups leveraging Japanese technology
Portfolio Companies: 7 investments (as of June 2025), including:
- Capacity Bio (Mitophagy platform)
- Typewriter Therapeutics (TPRT gene writing)
- City Therapeutics (RNAi drug discovery)
- Imbria Pharmaceuticals (Partial fatty acid oxidation inhibitors)
- Three stealth mode companies
Portfolio Companies
Capacity Bio, Inc.
Mechanism: Mitophagy
Overview:
- Developing a groundbreaking mitophagy treatment platform.
- The company’s team has identified druggable surface receptors that induce mitophagy—a process that promotes the breakdown and regeneration of mitochondria, improving mitochondrial quality.
- Its pipeline addresses potential treatments for neuromuscular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, and rare genetic disorders.
Typewriter Therapeutics, Inc.
Mechanism: TPRT gene writing
Overview:
- A startup aiming to commercialize mRNA-based gene therapies using its proprietary platform technology for targeted therapeutic gene insertion.
- Founded based on research achievements in transposons by one of its co-founders, Professor Emeritus Haruhiko Fujiwara of the University of Tokyo, who also serves as the company’s senior researcher.
- Selected in December 2024 for AMED’s “Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem.”
City Therapeutics, Inc.
Mechanism: RNAi
Overview:
- A next-generation siRNA drug discovery company, co-founded with intellectual property from Professor Yukihide Tomari of the University of Tokyo and Professor Kotaro Nakanishi from Ohio State university.
- Completed a $135M Series A funding round in October 2024.
- Announced a strategic partnership with Bausch + Lomb in January 2025 and Biogen in May 2025, including milestone payments of up to USD485 million and up to USD1 billion respectively.
Imbria Pharmaceuticals
Mechanism: Partial Fatty Acid Oxidation Inhibitor
Overview:
- Developing treatments for non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (nHCM) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
- Its lead candidate, ninerafaxstat, is a partial fatty acid oxidation inhibitor that shifts myocardial energy metabolism from fatty acid utilization to glucose utilization, improving energy efficiency.
- Completed a $58M Series B funding round in April 2025, primarily to advance Phase 2b clinical trials for nHCM.
Contacts
Media Contacts
Email: pr@an.vc
