Sakae Asanuma is the founding President & CEO of Taiho Ventures. See sector focus and contact routes.
Sakae Asanuma is the founding President & CEO of Taiho Ventures, a corporate venture capital firm he established in 2016 after serving as President of Astellas Venture Management and working at Yasuda Enterprise since 2000. His investment thesis targets early-stage life science companies, with a specific focus on biotech, therapeutics, and oncology at the pre-seed and seed stages globally. Asanuma typically invests between $100,000 and $5.0 million, with a sweet spot around $1.5 million, often acting as a lead investor in these initial rounds. Notable portfolio companies under his leadership include Arcus Biosciences, Orna Therapeutics, Anavo Therapeutics, and Axial Biotherapeutics. He brings a distinctive point of view centered on "build-to-buy" and spin-out initiatives, executing research collaborations that align startup innovation with Taiho Pharmaceutical’s corporate growth strategy. Throughout his career, he has invested in over 60 biotech companies, the majority achieving successful IPOs or mergers and acquisitions.
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