Press Release

ASKA Pharmaceutical and Future Venture Capital Co-found a Corporate
Venture Capital FundTOKYO, April 3, 2023 - ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo/ President,
Representative Director: Sohta Yamaguchi, hereinafter referred to as “ASKA” ), a subsidiary of
ASKA Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo/ President,
Representative Director: Takashi Yamaguchi, hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) andFuture Venture Capital Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Kyoto-shi, Kyoto/ President: Will Kim, hereinafterreferred to as “FVC”) are pleased to announce that they have jointly established a corporate
venture capital (CVC) fund, ASKA Innovation Investment Limited Partnership (ASKA Innovation
Fund, hereinafter referred to as “the Fund”).
Based on its corporate philosophy “contribute toward the improvement of people's health andprogress in society through the development of innovative products,” the Company develops
pharmaceutical, animal health, and testing businesses by leveraging its knowledge and expertisein the field of hormones. Under its medium-term management plan 2025 “become a total
healthcare company with a strong foundation as a specialty pharma company,” the Company isengaged in business activities to contribute to solving women's health issues as a leading
company in the field of obstetrics and gynecology in particular.
The Fund aims to create new value by accelerating open innovation between ASKA and Group
companies, ventures and startups to solve women's health issues.
By establishing this fund in the form of a two-person partnership and outsourcing each procedure
related to venture investment to FVC, this will allow ASKA to concentrate on collaboration with
the investment targets and speed up investment decision making.
ASKA plans to invest 1 billion yen over the next five years in promising startups in the areas ofwomen's health, pharmaceutical research, digital medicine, animal health, and diagnostics.
The Company aims to become a total healthcare company with a strong foundation as a specialty
pharma by leveraging FVC's wealth of knowledge, experience in CVC, and ability to find projects
through its nationwide network.

【Overview of the Fund】
Fund nameCommonnameFinanciersOperatingcompany
Date ofEstablishment
Fund scale
Operation
periodASKA Innovation Investment Limited Partnership
ASKA Innovation Fund
ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. （Limited Partner：LP）
Future Venture Capital Co., Ltd. （General Partner：GP）
Future Venture Capital Co., Ltd.
March 31, 2023
1 billion yen
10 years
Women's health issue solutions, pharmaceutical research, digital medicine,
animal health and diagnostics
1. Startups aiming to solve issues related to menstruation, infertility, andInvestment
targets

menopause.
2. Startups

researchingnovel

modalities

anddrugdeliveryinpharmaceutical research
3. Startups developing new digital health and apps
4. Startups in the animal health and diagnostics business
About ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Since its foundation in 1920, ASKA has concentrated its management resources in three coreareas: internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and urology, based on its corporate
philosophy “Contribute toward the improvement of people’s health and progress in medicine
through the development of innovative products.” In addition, ASKA has been actively engaged
in the development of new drugs to solve medical needs. For more information, please visit theASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. website at https://www.aska-pharma.co.jp/english
About Future Venture Capital Co., Ltd.
In addition to investing in the “Regional Revitalization Fund” to support regional venturecompanies and the “CVC Fund” to promote open innovation of business companies, we also
invest in startups regardless of region. For long-term business succession, we provide support
such as business development, human resource development, and business consulting.
Website: https://www.fvc.co.jp/

Inquiries

ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Corporate Planning Department
Tel: +81-3-5484-8366
Email: kouhou@aska-pharma.co.jp
Future Venture Capital Co., Ltd.
East Japan Investment Department
Tel: +81-75-257-6656
Email: fvc-pr_tokyo@fvc.co.jp