Japanese VC Fast Track Initiative Launches $130 Million Fund for Biotech Investment

October 22, 2025 — Japanese venture capital firm Fast Track Initiative (FTI) has unveiled its fourth fund, totaling approximately $130 million (¥20 billion), signaling continued conviction in biotech despite recent high-profile retreats from the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector.

The firm is capitalizing on global attention following the Nobel Prize awarded to Shimon Sakaguchi, founder of FTI-backed RegCell, for his discovery of regulatory T cells (Tregs).

“It’s a big thing for Japan to have somebody receive the Nobel Prize,” said Koji Yasuda, a principal at FTI, noting the spotlight is a “good thing, because cell therapy has gotten some tough times.”

The FTI Playbook: Bridging Japan and the US

Founded in Japan in 2004, FTI established a US office in Cambridge in 2019 to better access management and biotech talent, which is less abundant domestically. FTI’s strategy now focuses on company creation: sourcing compelling science in Japan and spinning it out into a US-based biotech firm.

FTI successfully executed this strategy with cell therapy developers RegCell, which recently raised $45.8 million and relocated to the US, and Shinobi Therapeutics. FTI also previously invested in immunology biotech Celsius, which was acquired by AbbVie last year for $250 million.

Continued Commitment to Cell and Gene Therapy

The launch of the new fund contrasts with recent news of major exits from the CGT sector, including actions by Galapagos, Takeda, and Novo Nordisk.

FTI remains committed to the space, planning investments in CGT alongside small molecules and antibody-based drugs.

“We definitely don’t shy away from cell and gene,” said FTI partner Tai Harada. “We are actively reviewing other cell and gene therapy companies, as long as there is an unmet need, and as long as you can justify a commercial potential.”

FTI notes that over 90% of the new fund’s commitments come from Japanese institutional investors, including domestic pension funds, reflecting growing openness to biotech investment at home. Harada described Japanese biopharma and VCs as being at an “inflection point” of gaining more recognition, further supported by increasing government backing through institutions like the Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).