Tokyo, Japan, December 21, 2017 -- Life Science Innovation Network Japan, Inc. (LINK-J), an incorporated association founded by Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. (Mitsui Fudosan) and a group of volunteers from academia, and Mitsui Fudosan participated in BRAVE 2017 Winter, the third term of the BRAVE Acceleration Program operated by Beyond Next Ventures Inc. (Beyond Next Ventures), a company making incubation investments in university-originated technology business ventures, as corporate partners.
In the Final Pitch Contest held on Monday, December 18, 2017, the special prize established by LINK-J, "Life Sciences Award," went to research team Sirius, which has been working on the development of an innovative diagnostic approach using digital bioassay for influenza virus infections. Sirius received three awards: the Second Prize and another Special Prize in addition to the Life Sciences Award.
As the award-winner, Sirius will participate in the 2018 Biocom Global Life Science Partnering Conference, one of the world's largest life science events to be held in San Diego, U.S., together with research team Prepper from Hamamatsu University School of Medicine ("A new pharmacokinetic analysis using mass microscopy and druggable target screening business"), another winner of the Life Sciences Award in the second term of BRAVE (BRAVE 2017 Spring).
Mr. Hisashi Miyazaki (far left, advisor of LINK-J), Mr. Kazuhito Tabata (second right, representative of Sirius), and members of Sirius
The BRAVE Acceleration Program is a platform that helps researchers and entrepreneurs in universities and research institutes and those aiming for commercialization to launch a business based on innovative technologies. It is intended to offer knowledge, expertise and a network to achieve commercialization. In this program, now in its third term, 11 researchers and entrepreneurs were selected through a document examination process. Afterwards, the selected candidates received a training program and mentoring with experts in business setup, specialists and entrepreneurs in different industries, and experienced venture capitalists to participate in the Final Pitch Contest held on Monday, December 18, 2017. The Grand Prize went to Smart-Rehab, which developed a non-invasive, wearable treatment device for neurogenic motor disorders that lack effective treatment, and the First Prize went to Quadlytics Inc., which established a system for epileptic seizure prediction using real-time analysis of heart rate variability.
As the winner of the Life Sciences Award, Mr. Kazuhito Tabata, representative of Sirius, said, "I am honored to receive such a prestigious award. I heard that we can participate in the Pitch Contest in San Diego, and I will try hard to seize this opportunity for overseas expansion."
Mr. Hisashi Miyazaki, advisor of LINK-J, said regarding the selection of the Life Sciences Award, "This Pitch Contest for BRAVE 2017 Winter was held to very high standards. Under such conditions, Sirius was also selected as winner of the Second Prize. For the practical application of research, it is important to go abroad from the beginning. By making this Life Sciences Award into an opportunity to appeal to the world, I hope that they will grow to become a company or team that represents Japan."
By providing support for researchers and entrepreneurs with innovative technologies, including this program, LINK-J and Mitsui Fudosan will encourage open innovations across the entire life science area and support the creation of new business.
About Beyond Next Ventures
Beyond Next Ventures is a venture capital firm with strength in incubation investments in university-originated technology-related business ventures at the seed level. Tsuyoshi Ito is its president and representative director. At his previous workplace, JAFCO Co., Ltd., he took charge of the industry-university collaboration investment group. He also engaged in investments in a number of university-originated ventures including CYBERDYNE, Spiber and Quantum Biosystems. Beyond Next Ventures has invested in 15 projects, mainly in the medical and life sciences sectors, as the leading venture capital firm to support their business startups. It is involved in governmental projects as a venture capital firm that is certified by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and as a business promoter for the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).
Outline of the BRAVE Acceleration Program
The BRAVE Acceleration Program is a platform that helps researchers and entrepreneurs in universities and research institutes and those aiming for commercialization to launch business based on innovative technologies. Researchers and entreperneurs who are selected through a document examination process can receive training programs and mentoring with experts in business setup, specialists and entrepreneurs in different industries, and experienced venture capitalists to participate in the Final Pitch Contest.
Those selected organizations that are rated as excellent in the Pitch Contest will receive funds for commercial startup, support from corporate partners and support in the acquisition of personnel requisite to the project. In addition, pre-startup projects will be provided with an opportunity to be recommended for the Program for Creating Start-Ups from Advanced Research and Technology, or the START Program for short. This program grants a subsidy of a maximum of 30 million yen per year for up to three years, and only those business promoter units that have been recognized by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) may be recommended for it. The BRAVE Acceleration Program helps candidates to improve their business plans and business startup structures in order to make them more likely to be adopted under the START Program. Those candidates that have been adopted under the START Program will enjoy support for business startups from Beyond Next Ventures for the same period.
Outline of the Life Sciences Award presented by LINK-J
Assenting to the objective of the program, Mitsui Fudosan and LINK-J will provide a venue for the training and the final examination, and will establish a Life Sciences Award to be presented at the final examination. The institutions winning this award will be invited to the Biocom Global Life Science Partnering Conference. This is a two-day event scheduled for February 28 - March 1, 2018 to be held in San Diego, California, USA and organized by Biocom - Life Sciences Association of California, with about 800 companies and organizations relating to life sciences business as members and in partnership with LINK-J. This event is a special partner forum aimed at building networks and business collaborations among business managers, financial institutions, venture capitalists and business development personnel of major pharmaceutical companies and bio-tech firms around the world. The invitation includes a round-trip flight ticket, accommodation expenses for three nights, and the fee for admission to the Global Partnering Conference. By participating in the program, LINK-J will encourage open innovations in the area of life sciences and support the creation of new businesses.
＜ Program Details ＞
◆ Administrative Office: Beyond Next Ventures
◆ Sponsoring Partners: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd., Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., Life Science Innovation Network Japan, Inc. (LINK-J), Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd., AZX Corporation, Johnson & Johnson K.K., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K.
◆ Supported by: Shobayashi International Patent &Trademark Office and Uchida & Samejima Law Firm
◆ Eligibility:
- Researchers affiliated with universities, research institutes and the equivalent with a keen interest in commercializing technological seeds and envisioning business startups as well as researchers who have just started business
- Researchers who have established companies, irrespective of whether or not they are affiliated with any university, research institute or equivalent
- Eligible applicants may be either students or adult workers, and may be of any nationality
- In principle, eligible applicants can participate in training programs and the Final Pitch Contest.
◆ Domains of Eligibility: Life sciences, health care, robots, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), big data and other high-tech areas
◆ Examination Criteria:Teams with strong enthusiasm and ambition regarding commercialization, major business opportunities, technologies for resolving social issues and highly viable business plans
◆ Timetable: From August to September 2017: Invitation for entry
October 2017: Documentary examination and matching event
November 18 to 19, 2017: Training camp
December 18, 2017: Final Pitch Contest (examination by examiners)
＜ Final Pitch Contest Details ＞
◆ Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
◆ Venue: Nihonbashi Life Science Hub, 1-5-5 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
◆ Contestant Teams : Teams that have passed the examination and undergone the training programs
◆ Examination: A five-minute pitch and a five-minute question-and-answer session
◆ Participants: Only those related to the contestant teams and partner companies who are invited
◆ Examiners:
Tomihisa Kamada, CEO of TomyK Ltd. and co-founder of ACCESS Co., Ltd.
Hiromu Soga, representative director of KAPION
Kenichiro Muto, Director, Sales Japan of IT company
Rami Suzuki Ph.D. Head of Business Development, Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K.
Takigawa Yasushi, Vice President/ General Manager, Business Development of Boston Scientific Japan
Tsuyoshi Ito, representative director and managing partner of Beyond Next Ventures Inc.
◆ Awarded Party
・Grand Prize: 「Smart-Rehab」 Development of a non-invasive, wearable treatment device for neurogenic motor disorders that lack effective treatment
・First Prize: 「Quadlytics Inc.」 Establishment of a system for epileptic seizure prediction using real-time analysis of heart rate variability
・Second Prize: 「Sirius」 Development of an innovative diagnostic approach using digital bioassay for influenza virus infections
Special Prize
・Life Science Award (LINK-J) : Sirius
・Prize from Shobayashi International Patent &Trademark Office (Shobayashi International Patent &Trademark Office)：Smart-Rehab
・Rocket Prize (Uchida & Samejima Law Firm): Grand Green Inc., development of next generation grafting technique using plants from different families
・PR TIMES Prize (PR TIMES Inc.): Smart-Rehab
・AWS Prize (Amazon Web Service): Smart-Rehab
・KEYSTONE Prize (IKEDA SCIENTIFIC Co. Ltd.): Sirius
・Vector Builder Prize (IKEDA SCIENTIFIC Co. Ltd.): Kosai Lab, innovative anti-cancer medication indicated for all-type cancers
・Beyond Next Ventures Prize: Smart-Rehab，Grand Green Inc.
* For other details, please visit the website of the BRAVE Program at: http://brave.team/
(The next BRAVE term will be held in the summer of 2018.)
*Currently, a collaborative overnight program in collaboration between Kobe City and BRAVE, the "Kobe × BRAVE Acceleration Program," is open for entries (https://kobexbrave.tech/).
■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, home to a number of pharmaceutical companies, LINK-J aims to promote open innovation in the life science realm through industry-government-academia cooperation and to extend support to the creation of new industries. As a platform for the entire life science area, namely the area where all sciences are combined, ranging from medicine to science and further to engineering or new technologies, such as information and communication technology (ICT) or artificial intelligence (AI), it will accelerate interdisciplinary human and technological exchange. The number of members has exceeded 180, including corporations and individuals, in the year and a half since recruitment began. For more details, please visit its website.