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Venture Fund Aims To Enrich Chugai’s Discovery Engine

$200m In Initial Capital

 
• By Ian Haydock and Lisa Takagi

The head of Chugai's new $200m venture capital fund talks to Scrip about its investment priorities.

Chugai Venture Fund head John Gustofson talks about his strategy and ambitions for the investment subsidiary in an interview in Tokyo. (Shutterstock)

Established in July 2023 with initial funding of $200m and beginning active operations around a year ago, Chugai Pharmaceutical’s first global venture investment fund aims to access and support innovation, new technologies and the major Japanese firm’s discovery engine.

The Boston, US-based Chugai Venture Fund (CVF) is headed by former AbbVie Ventures managing director John Gustofson and has announced three investments so far, in US biotech firms Leal Therapeutics, Hyku Biosciences and another undisclosed company

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