Image credit- shutterstock
Japan-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical has announced that Otsuka BioVentures, LLC (OBV), a corporate venture capital (CVC) firm has begun strategic equity investments.
OBV will make strategic equity investments in promising startup companies developing innovative science and technologies that complement and expand Otsuka Pharmaceutical's internal R&D efforts in its key focus areas including psychiatry, neurology, nephrology, and immunology.
Through these investments, OBV aims to provide portfolio companies with access to Otsuka Pharmaceutical's expertise in drug development and commercialisation, while broadening access to cutting-edge science and technologies and fostering opportunities for future partnerships
In June of this year, OBV participated in the Series B financing round of US-based SonoThera Therapeutics as its first investment. SonoThera is developing a non-viral gene therapy platform that utilises ultrasound technology for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The proceeds from the financing are expected to support the advancement of these programs.
OBV has already made its second investment and continues to actively pursue investment opportunities in promising life sciences companies.
