The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development will establish a new office next month in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It will increase funding opportunities for local drug-discovery startups and strengthen collaboration with investors and universities to support technological innovation.
The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development will establish an office next month in Cambridge, known as the world's largest city for drug discovery and biotechnology. Through the local office, the agency plans to promote funding for Japanese drug-discovery startups and strengthen its role as a bridge to leading universities and investors with which they collaborate on research.
Cambridge is home to Harvard University and MIT, and the surrounding area has many drug-discovery startups working with universities. Companies with promising technologies are said to attract substantial investment. The new office will be located in a private-sector building, where it plans to meet directly with researchers and investors and promote areas in which Japan is considered strong, such as regenerative medicine.
The agency intends to help startups that have received venture capital investment locally raise funds more easily through a program that uses Japanese government grants.
Estimates by a US research firm indicate that startups around Cambridge raised more than ¥8 trillion from venture capital between 2019 and 2024, and suggest that a virtuous cycle in which technological innovation attracts investment is continuing. An agency official said, “We want to create funding opportunities and improve drug-discovery capabilities.”