04.25.2022
BOSTON, MA – Fast Track Initiative (CEO: Hiromichi Kimura; headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; hereinafter referred to as ‘FTI’), a pioneer life science venture capital firm in Japan, has officially announced its new location in the United States along with its new US website launching (https://us.fasttrackinitiative.com). Tai Harada, Vice President of FTI will be overseeing the new branch in Boston, MA. FTI has been increasingly expanding its investment in the US and anticipates to make a footprint on the biotech industry as an investor with a distinguished perspective. It aims to create unique collaborations with the US life science network to make a significant impact on human wellness and our quality of life.
FTI has also announced the launch of FTI No. 3 Fund at 13.9B JPY (104.2M USD). This newest fund is focusing on investments in US startups as well as Japanese startups. FTI No. 3 Fund has already invested in 9 companies, including 3 ex-Japan biotech startups pursuing groundbreaking drug discovery.
As its first overseas investment, FTI invested in Celsius Therapeutics syndicating with Third Rock Ventures, GV (Formerly Google Ventures), Casdin Capital, and other leading VCs totaling 83M USD.
<Comment from Celsius Therapeutics, CEO, Tariq Kassum, MD>
“Celsius Therapeutics is very pleased that FTI participated in our recent financing. They have deep expertise in drug discovery as well as a robust network in the pharmaceutical industry – a unique and powerful Since joining our syndicate, FTI has been actively supporting our external collaboration activities and we are looking forward to continuing to work with them closely as we further engage with new partners globally.”
In addition to Celsius, FTI has completed a Seed and Series A investment in another US biotechnology startup through a co-investment with ARCH Venture Partners. The startup is working on a novel drug concept based on technologies invented at multiple academic institutions (details TBA).
<Comment from Keith Crandell, Managing Director, ARCH Venture Partners>
“ARCH is very excited to syndicate and partner with FTI in the seed round of financing of one of the newest ARCH portfolio companies, which pursues a new class of therapeutics that has the potential to innovate modern medicines. FTI is a selected syndicate partner with a shared mission and strong fit with ARCH investment philosophy and is a committed value-add investor with strong network and expertise. ARCH looks forward to collaborating with FTI in the company development and exploring more co-investment opportunities.”
FTI looks forward to networking and syndicating with other domestic and overseas investors, financial institutions, academia, and other corporates to cultivate life science startups from foundation, which has been FTI’s strength for almost two decades.
About Fast Track Initiative, Inc.:
Established in 2004, Fast Track Initiative, Inc. (FTI) is a life science venture capital firm focusing its investments on grow seed and early-stage startups with a strong focus on biotech and therapeutics. FTI has a strict mission to make a ground-breaking impact on the quality of our life and human wellness through investments across a broad range of areas in the life science community including diagnostics, digital health, healthcare services, and more. The company provides full, hands-on operational support to its 30+ portfolio companies through business and R&D strategy, investor syndication, and more, including access to their exclusive network of leading industry professionals in Japan. Visit https://us.fasttrackinitiative.com for more details, or follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fast-track-initiative/
Media Contact:
For press inquiries or investor inquiries, please email: message.us@fasttrackinitiative.com
