Kazuhiko has over 20 years of experience in drug discovery, licensing, and search and evaluation. He led and contributed to, as a biochemist, many drug discovery projects, including oncology and cardiovascular areas, at four different companies. Prior to joining the team, he worked at Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim in Japan for the search and evaluation of innovative assets from the Japanese academia and start-up companies, especially in areas with high unmet medical needs, such as rare diseases, regenerative medicine, and gene therapy. He joined Remiges Ventures, a cross-border venture capital firm, in 2020 and plays a role as a principal. He holds an MSc from the Graduate School of Agriculture at Kyoto University and a PhD from the Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Nagoya City University.

After experiencing accounting and auditing, M&A and corporate development work at a major accounting firm and a global conglomerate in Japan and the United States, Ryota has held critical positions in the pharmaceutical industry for 15 years, including head of business development, head of marketing, business unit lead and corporate officer. Most recently, he was involved in the spin-off project of Organon at Merck & Co. and since 2021, he has served as the Representative Director and President of Organon’s Japan subsidiary. He has also been involved in advocacy activity and has served as a board member and a co-chair of several industry associations. Graduated from the Faculty of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University and is a certified public accountant in Japan and the United States.

Takuma Tsuzuku has more than 10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. At Sumitomo Pharma, his responsibilities included research related to drug delivery systems, formulation, bio-distribution, and process development. After that, he was engaged in planning a novel research theme and search & evaluation of in-licensing opportunities as associate director. He also had worked for Remiges Ventures, Inc. as a secondment for a few years, where he was mainly engaged in early biotech investment as an investment manager. He joined JICvgi, a Japanese venture capital firm, in 2023 and plays a role as a venture capitalist/life science professional. He is a pharmacist and holds an MSc in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Shizuoka and an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Management, GLOBIS University.

Hideki Hirabayashi has 30 years of experience in major pharmaceutical companies specializing in DMPK and translational researches with extensive expertise spanning from the drug discovery stage to regulatory submission. In his previous role at Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., he served as Japan site head of DMPK Research Labs., and later as the Global Head of Nonclinical Biomarkers. Additionally, he held the position of President and CEO at T.N.Technos. Ltd. He is actively involved in academic fields and has contributed to the societal implementation of cutting-edge technologies in Japan. Currently, he serves as a Program Officer for the AMED (National) project on regenerative medicine and gene therapy. He is also a board member of the Japanese Society for the Study of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (JSSX) and the HAB Research Organization, while holding guest professorships at Tokyo University of Science and Nagoya City University. He received a MS degree from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, and earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Okayama University. Additionally, he is a licensed pharmacist.

Yasuhiro Morita has over 20 years of integrated experience in pharmaceutical research and development, encompassing exploratory synthesis, process development, nonclinical studies, clinical trials, and intellectual property strategy. He led the design and synthesis of two lead compounds targeting peripheral neuropathic pain, advancing projects from initial research to clinical application through a strategic and execution-driven approach. He holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, and is a licensed pharmacist.