Pitch meeting to be held to generate Japanese medical unicorns in Nihonbashi, the representative location of healthcare innovations in Japan
Life Science Innovation Network Japan, Inc. (Head office: Nihonbashi-Honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Chairman of the Board: Hideyuki Okano; hereinafter "LINK-J"), Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development, Inc. (CEO: Takahiro Uchida; hereinafter "JOMDD"), MedVenture Partners, Inc. (President & CEO: Hajime Oshita; hereinafter "MedVenture"), and US-Japan Medtech Frontiers (Chairmen: Jack Moorman; hereinafter "USJMF") are starting to invite participants to the following pitch event today.
Recently, the medical device industry has been growing worldwide, there exist the expanding demand in emerging markets in Asian nations and other countries. Tn Japan, there exist demands for the innovative medical device and healthcare services at clinical sites, to improve treatment quality, enhance quality of life, address the labor shortage including medical doctors and staff, and to increase healthcare efficiency. Therefore, academia and startups are becoming more proactive in the development of medical devices and other products in Japan. To give additional momentum to this new trend, these organizations listed above will hold a pitch event for this field. There exists a huge demand for 'UNICORN', so-called extremely valuable startup companies. Who aim to solve clinical sites' issue could participate this pitch event, we are searching for 'UNICORN' for the medical field in Japan.
Last year LINK-J and JOMDD cooperated to hold a pitch event. For this year, this event will be expected to enhance with participating MedVenture and USJMF. Thisevent will be held on, November 9, 2018, Friday, as a part of MEDTEC INNOVATION - Symposium and Pitch (*), hosted by LINK-J and co-hosted by JOMDD, MedVenture and USJMF. The team which passed the document screening could attend the pitch event to give a presentation Japanese and American med-tech start-up capitalists. Prizes are awarded to the winners.
Guidelines for applicants : MEDTEC INNOVATION Pitch by Universities/Businesses/Hospitals
Presenter selection schedule |
|
Qualifications for applicants |
Companies, teams and individuals (students are included) that have ideas/technologies/products/business projects (ideas without pending patent applications are accepted) and are capable of making presentations about these technologies/products/business projects in the field of medical devices, digital health, healthcare services, and other medical and nursing cares. |
Examination methods |
- Screening: The documents are screened to select the presenters who could make a presentation at the final examination. The the screening results will be informed to all applicants. The results of thescreening will also be posted on the website of LINK-J at the end of October. E-mail address : for submitting the applications and inquiries: *Please provide us with an outline of the project. The file provided to us should comprise up to ten pages, including a brief history of the applicant, an overview of the company, and other information such as technological superiority, the innovativeness of the business project, and the presence of intellectual property. Please send this information by e-mail to the address above. Any formats are acceptable. - Final examination: Each selected presenters could give a pitch in either Japanese or English, as part of the program of MEDTEC INNOVATION - Symposium and Pitch (*), at November 9, Friday. The time for each pitch is ten minute length, five-minute presentation and five-minute Q&A. The results will be announced at the same day of the final examination. - Judges: Medical Devices-related start-up capitalists in Japan and the U.S.A. |
Commendation and prizes |
The winning team receives a prize, choose either 1) or 2) . 1) Visiting start-up capitals, incubators and investors in Silicon Valley, U.S.A. (two people from the winning team): Travel expenses, comprise three-night and five-day trip fees. 2) Grant for investment or development, up to 100,000,000 yen from JOMDD : for commercialization or overseas business roll out |
Profiles of pitch judges
Takahiro (Taka) Uchida, MD, PhD, MSc,
Founder and CEO of the Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development, Inc. (JOMDD), the first incubator for medical devices and healthcare in Japan. Taka is a specialist for cardiology and internal medicine in Japan. He graduated the Harvard School of Public Health with a master degree in Epidemiology and completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is the first Japanese medical officer/reviewer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
After succeed as a Medical Director at Boston Scientific Corporation, Taka worked as a consultant to support multiple medtech startups in the Bay area of U.S.A.
Taka works as a visiting professor at Osaka University since 2018. He also holds several academic roles, for example, committee member/review board/advisory for the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, etc.
Graduated from Osaka University of Foreign Studies and Hosei University Graduate School of Business Administration. Has more than 20 years' experience in the medical device industry, including investment at venture capital firms and business development at multiple medical device companies. Started his career in the medical device industry at Japan Lifeline Co., Ltd. and was in charge of negotiations with medical device start-ups in the U.S.A.: his first contact with the venture investment world.
Subsequently in charge of investment in overseas medical device start-ups at ITX. Led the final round of Fox Hollow Technologies, which achieved a valuation of 1.4 billion dollars at its peak after IPO. From 2005, spent 5 years in Silicon Valley as a local hire and engaged in medical device investment s in the U.S.A. . Numerous medical devices have been developed by start-ups in which he invested, which are currently used in the world's most advanced medical practices, such as the Flow Diverter for treating brain aneurysms. The track record of EXIT includes Chestnut Medical, Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., C2 Therapeutics, and Biomedical Solutions, Inc. In 2013, started a medical device focused fund of 6 billion yen and has been actively investing in medical device start-ups both in Japan and U.S..
Kirk Zeller has twenty-five years of experience bringing to market innovative medical devices in markets around the world. Kirk's masters and doctoral research and study focused on healthcare start-ups, he continues to work closely with start-up companies, and frequently judges pitch competitions. Kirk' s functional expertise includes sales, marketing, channel management, market development, business development, and commercial development for companies including J&J, Micrus Endovascular, SI-BONE, PneumRx, Japan Lifeline, and Goodman (NIPRO). Over the last two decades Kirk has facilitated the launch of a wide range of medical devices in Japan and other international markets.
Shinichi Takamiya,
Partner/Chief Strategy Officer, Globis Capital Partners & Co.
Shin is General Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at GLOBIS Capital Partners. Shin leads investments in mobile, digital media, and web services. Shin takes a hands-on approach to his portfolio companies initiating strategy development, organization/process development, partnership development, and global expansion.His track record includes: IPO iStyle (ticker TSE 3660), Aucfan (3674), Kayac (3904), Pixta (3416), and Mercari (4385); M&A Shimauma Print System (acquired by CCC), and nanapi (acquired by KDDI). His portfolio includes Lancers, Viibar, Timers, Coubic, Reblue, and Mirrative etc.Prior to Globis, Shin led management consulting projects at Arthur D. Little where he developed corporate strategy, new business strategy and innovation strategy for leading IT service providers and software companies. Shin received BA in Economics from University of Tokyo (graduation thesis with Honor), and MBA from Harvard Business School (Second Year Honor). Shin has 8+ years of overseas experience in England, Holland and the US.
Outline of MEDTEC INNOVATION - Symposium and Pitch
Outline
Date: November 9, 2018, Friday,
Location: Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall (2-1, Nihonbashi-muromachi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0022)
Hosted by: Life Science Innovation Network Japan, Inc. (LINK-J)
Co-hosted by: Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development, Inc. (JOMDD), MedVenture Partners, Inc., and US-Japan Medtech Frontiers (USJMF)
Expected visitors: Around 300 including journalists and people concerned with the medical device industry
Time | Contents |
11:30 a.m | Opening |
12:00 p.m-1:00 p.m |
Exhibition (presentation of businesses of healthcare companies and organizations) |
1:00 p.m-1:15 p.m | Greeting Host: Hideyuki Okano, M.D., Ph.D. (Chairman of the board of LINK-J; Dean, Keio University Graduate School of Medicine; Professor, Department of Physiology) |
1:15 p.m-2:15 p.m | Keynote lecture Yoshiki Sawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Vice Chairman of the board of LINK-J; Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine) And others |
2:15 p.m-2:25 p.m | Break |
2:25 p.m-4:25 p.m | Session Theme: (tentative) Japan's first med-tech unicorn Lecturer: to be determined (will be posted on www.link-j.org) Moderator: Takeo Asano, M.D., Specially Appointed Associate Professor of Strategic Global Partnership & Cross-Innovation Initiative, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine and Osaka University Hospital |
4:25 p.m-4:55 p.m | Break and exhibition Med-tech Auction: short presentations by local governments and exhibitors |
4:55 p.m-6:55 p.m | Pitches Theme: MEDTEC INNOVATION Pitch by Universities/Businesses/Hospitals Pitch :startups (5 minutes) and Q&As (5 minutes) for each team Judges: Takahiro Uchida (CEO of JOMDD), Hajime Oshita (President & CEO of MedVenture Partners, Inc.), Kirk Zeller (UFJMF), Shinichi Takamiya (Chief Strategy Officer of Globis Capital Partners & Co.) |
6:55 p.m | Break and move |
7:00 p.m | Party |
8:00 p.m | Close |
About Life Science Innovation Network Japan, Inc. (LINK-J)
LINK-J is a general incorporated association established by Mitsui Fudosan and volunteers from academic circles. With its base in the Nihonbashi area, where a number of pharmaceutical companies cluster, LINK-J aims to promote open innovation in the life science realm through industry-government-academia cooperation and extend support to the creation of new industries. LINK-J will accelerate interdisciplinary exchanges at human/ technology field, where all sciences are combined, ranging from medicine to science, further more, engineering, new technologies, such as information and communication technology (ICT) or artificial intelligence (AI).
Overview of Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development, Inc. (JOMDD)
Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development, Inc. is the first business incubator in Japan that cooperates with academia and startups in Japan to commercialize medical devices and other products. It invests money in and provides support to research institutions and businesses around Japan to grow Japan-made products that can compete globally; for example, the outsourcing of projects of the Japan Medical Association, universities, and local administrations such as Kanagawa and Kobe. Its' track record includes investment in and support for the start-up from Kumamoto that is developing a pain treatment device and the start-up from the University of Electro-Communications that is developing rehabilitation equipment and other devices using robotics technology.
https://jomdd.com/
Overview of MedVenture Partners, Inc.
MedVenture Partners, Inc. invests in the life science field, including medical devices, at an early stage so as to contribute to the development of the medical device business incubation and the industrial base for medical Device in Japan through a sufficient track record of investment in medical device start-ups and business incubation in Japan and the U.S.A., including Silicon Valley, experience in clinical settings and medical research in Japan, and their global network.
http://www.medvp.co.jp/
Overview of US-Japan Medtech Frontiers(USJMF)
USJMF is a nonprofit corporation based in Silicon Valley whose mission is to share best practices for medical device innovation and promote networking and cooperation between US and Japanese medical device organizations.
https://www.usjmf.net/
■ Contact ■
Japanese Organization for Medical Device Developement, Inc. (JOMDD)
Telephone: 03-6262-3322
Facsimile: 03-6262-3022
E-mail: info@jomdd.com (for inquiries about pitches: medpitch2018@jomdd.com)
PR personnel: Takahata and Ishikura