CULTIVATING GLOBAL INNOVATION
Our team of professionals has a proven track record inscience, management, and investments to spark growthin our portfolio
Hiromichi Kimura, PhD, MBA
CEO and Managing Partner
Hiromichi Kimura is the founder, CEO, and a Managing Partner of FTI while also a recognized leader in the Japanese biotech and pharmaceutical industry. With years of industry experience in top management, he has implemented numerous external collaborations and innovations. In addition to his career in venture capital, he directs academic studies in the field of innovation management and lifestyle design and biotechnology incubations with the Kawasaki city local government.
After Hiromichi’s successful career at Kyowa Hakko Kogyo (presently known as Kyowa Kirin) in its clinical research division and at JP Morgan in Financial Advisory and M&A, he joined Pharmacia (formerly known as Amersham Pharmacia Biotech before being acquired by GE Healthcare) where he eventually became the President and Representative Director. He was also the President and Representative Director of Monsanto Japan (currently Pfizer Japan) and served as the CEO of HuBit Genomix. Hiromichi has held academia positions as professor at the University of Tokyo and is currently a Project Professor at the University of Tokyo Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI). He is also the Deputy Chairman at Stanford Alumni Association Japan.
Hiromichi holds a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from Stanford University.
Tomohiro Anzai, PhD
COO and Managing Partner
Tomo Anzai is the COO and a Managing Partner of FTI and directs activities from investments, to fundraising and fund management. He joined FTI in its early days and has been involved in the development and strategic governance of our portfolio companies. He invests in, and guides both Biotech and HealthTech startups and has contributed to a handful of successful exits of portfolio companies as a board member.
Prior to joining FTI, Tomo acquired a range of consulting experience serving the pharmaceutical industry at Arthur D. Little (Japan). As a member of the Global Healthcare Practice, he focused on biotech, diagnostics, and healthcare companies across diverse topics including corporate strategy and new business development. He was also a Project Associate Professor of the Translational Research (TR) Initiative at the University of Tokyo and a Visiting Associate Professor at Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS). In 2012, he served as a part-time member of the Medical Innovation Office, Cabinet Secretariat of the Japanese Government.
Tomo received his PhD in Life Sciences from the University of Tokyo and completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at MIT Sloan School of Management. He made the Forbes Midas List of Japan in 2021 for leading FTI’s investments, including Modalis Therapeutics (TSE 4883).
Makoto Takeuchi
Executive Vice President
Makoto Takeuchi is an Executive Vice President at FTI. Makoto has broad experience and a multitude of achievements in pharmaceutical R&D, and leadership roles. He brings management, strategic, and operational insights as well as an industry executive network to FTI and its portfolio companies.
Makoto previously worked for Astellas Pharma (formerly Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical) in roles of increasing responsibility. He started in the Research Division and ultimately worked his way up to Senior Corporate Executive and the Head of External Relations. He has extensive experience in pharmaceutical research, especially in inflammation and bone metabolism. Makoto was highly involved in the discovery and launch of Minodronate and Solifenacin for the treatment of osteoporosis and overactive bladder.
In the past, Makoto served as a Chairman of the Pharma Industrial Policy and R&D Committees at the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA), as Vice Chairman at the Forum for Innovative Regenerative Medicine (FIRM), and as an advisory member of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). He currently serves as Program Officer at the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). He graduated from Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University.
Hiroko Kimura, PhD
Principal
Dr. Hiroko Kimura is a Principal at FTI and focuses on sourcing, assessment, and hands-on support of our biotech portfolio companies. Hiroko contributed to FTI’s investment in the therapeutics and medical device sectors. She also takes a significant role in LP management activities and finance funding. She joined FTI in its early days and has been instrumental to the building and developing of our corporate network for FTI and its portfolio companies.
Before joining FTI, Hiroko worked as a consultant at a management consulting firm focusing on strategy development for healthcare and wellbeing industry clients. She covered business planning, new business development, and alliances. Hiroko studied molecular biology in the master’s course and cognitive neuroscience in the doctoral course. She received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Medicine. Hiroko is a certified Intellectual Property Analyst.
Tai Harada, MBA
Partner
Tai Harada is a Partner at FTI and spearheads FTI’s US activities from strategy development to investments. On the investment side, Tai identifies and evaluates opportunities in the biotech sector and provides strategic and operational support to our portfolio companies. He also contributed to the launch of FTI’s recent fund and is involved in LP relations as well.
Previously, Tai was an Investment Consultant at ARCH Venture Partners where he evaluated early-stage life science companies. He also worked with Takeda Pharmaceutical as a Business Development consultant for its Oncology and Cell Therapy external collaborations. In the past, he worked at McKinsey & Company as a Junior Manager, focusing on new business development and corporate strategies for healthcare industry clients. Tai holds a Master of Engineering from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Koji Yasuda, PhD
Principal
Koji Yasuda joined FTI in 2023 as a Principal focusing on NewCo creation, sourcing, assessment, and hands-on support on our biotech portfolio companies.
Koji brings a diverse background encompassing both biotech startups and pharmaceutical drug development. Notably, as one of the founding members of Kintai Therapeutics (now known as Senda Biosciences), a NewCo originating from Flagship Pioneering, Koji played a key role in establishing the early phases of their discovery platform and was instrumental in team’s effort to secure Series A through C, totaling ~$250M USD. At Pfizer and Takeda, Koji led clinical biomarker strategy, advancing several Oncology and Gastroenterology assets through early phases of clinical development (IND through Phases I-III).
Koji holds a PhD in Computational Biology from Harvard University, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), and Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees from Cornell University.
Koki Fukatsu, JD
Associate
Koki Fukatsu is an attorney at law and a licensed pharmacist in Japan. Koki covers FTI’s HealthTech investments with a focus on healthcare services and the digital health field. He brings many years of legal expertise and perspectives to FTI.
Koki hails from Eisai Japan where he worked as an in-house lawyer handling M&A, business development, and shareholder meetings. Previously, he managed ICT projects including data integrity, security, and network. Additionally, he worked as a Senior Consultant on the life science R&D team at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Koki holds a BSPS degree and a JD from the University of Tokyo.
Shogo Kato, MS
Associate
Shogo Kato brings his insights into innovation management as an active researcher in the field. He joined FTI in 2018 and manages HealthTech investments with a focus on healthcare services and digital health. He also contributes to external affairs with academia and outside companies to build FTI’s strong network.
Since 2016, Shogo has been a visiting researcher at the Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (iCONM), Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion. Shogo holds a Master of Management of Technology from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Keita Kiriya, MS
Associate
Keita Kiriya joined FTI in 2020 and brings strategic, analytical thinking and perspectives to FTI. He manages HealthTech and Biotech investments. He contributed to new company development and is involved in FTI’s external networks, activities, and academic relations.
Before joining FTI, Keita worked as a consultant in the PwC deals strategy and operations team where he was involved in M&A strategy development, due diligence, and PMI support. Keita holds an MS degree from Waseda University’s Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering.
Ayano Otsuka, MS
Associate
Ayano Otsuka joined FTI in 2023, contributing extensive expertise in health tech and biotech investments through strategic thinking and a comprehensive knowledge of both market-in and product-out perspectives. Prior to joining FTI, Ayano played a pivotal role in new product development for a prominent food manufacturing company.
As a senior consultant in Arthur D. Little’s esteemed healthcare team, Ayano spearheaded the development of organizational strategies, research and development initiatives, and new business entry strategies across diverse manufacturing sectors. Her contributions encompassed pharmaceuticals, medical devices, contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), as well as the food and cosmetics industries.
Ayano earned her Master’s degree from Tokyo University’s Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Keiji Nishiyama, PhD
Venture Partner
Keiji Nishiyama joined FTI in 2024, dedicating himself to company creation activities. Previously, as a Principal Scientist and Project Leader in preclinical drug development at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, he undertook a broad spectrum of responsibilities, ranging from target identification in drug discovery research within the CNS area to filing preclinical data regarding approval applications for insomnia. Following this tenure, Keiji served as a Japan Clinical Leader at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, where he was instrumental in the CNS and Oncology. In this capacity, Keiji spearheaded the planning of clinical development programs, oversaw the execution of clinical trials, and navigated the complex process of securing approvals for schizophrenia treatments. His career progressed further at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where, as a Japan Program Head in the areas of Cardiovascular, Renal, Metabolic, and Cancer, he led clinical developments of five products and contributed to approvals in heart failure and tumor-agnostic therapy.
Keiji holds an MS in Biological Sciences from the Graduate School of Science at Osaka University and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kyoto Pharmaceutical University.
Masaaki Sato, MS
Venture partner
Masaaki Sato worked for Mitsubishi Electric before joining Microsoft Japan as the head of the healthcare industry in Japan. Previously, he worked at Bayer Japan as head of Digital Marketing of Strategic Business Planning, a new department established with his arrival. As the head of Digital Marketing, he successfully implemented and ran several, multi-channel marketing campaigns.
Masaaki received his Master’s of Commercial Science from Meiji University and also works as a special researcher at the University’s Social Innovation Design Laboratory.
Shintaro Sengoku, PhD
Innovation Expert
Shintaro Sengoku is an Innovation Expert who provides strategic insights to FTI with his extensive expertise in the healthcare industry. He is currently a Professor at School of Environment and Society at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. In the past, he started off as an Associate Professor at Kyoto University at the International Collaboration Center, then moved on to the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS). He gained valuable experience at McKinsey & Company, Inc. where he handled a wide range of management consulting activities for domestic and overseas companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare fields including company-wide strategy planning, R&D strategy planning, business/product strategy planning, operational enhancement, and M&A support.
Shintaro has also served as a part-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Biosciences at Kyoto University, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tokyo, the Graduate School of Engineering at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Toyohashi University of Technology, and more.
He has a PhD from the Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo.
