The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) is set to back the $200m-300m third fund of UK life science investment firm 4BIO Capital.
Announced today, the DBJ – a development bank owned by the Japanese government – has entered an agreement to finance the final close of the UK-based 4BIO Ventures III fund, alongside Japanese pharmaceutical group Kyowa Kirin and paediatric health group Children’s Minnesota.
The investment represents the first backing of a UK life science fund from the sovereign development bank of Japan.
The fund is targeting private firms developing advanced cell and gene therapy, microbiome support, RNA-based therapy and other emerging technologies in the health tech sector.
The London-based investor previously led the £20m Series A for Cambridge-based biotech firm ViaNautis.
“At 4BIO Capital, we strongly believe that advanced therapies and other emerging technologies are the future of healthcare,” said 4BIO Capital managing partner Dmitry Kuzmin.
“Our journey through Ventures II brought significant validation to our early-stage creation and incubation strategy, as seen by the upsized and oversubscribed financings of Entact Bio, Code Bio, and Ray Therapeutics as well as the continued success of our existing portfolio.”
DBJ vice president Mami Matsunaga said: “4BIO Capital are true experts in company creation and incubation of some of the most exciting science in biotech.
“Its network and knowledge of the advanced therapies sector in the UK, Japan and globally makes them the perfect partner.”
In December 2022, the Japanese and British governments jointly formed the UK-Japan Digital Council to explore collaborative tech projects between the nations.