Takeda Research Investment: Reaching Beyond the Land of the Rising Sun
May 2008
Takeda Research Investment: Reaching Beyond the Land of the Rising Sun
This insightful conversation features Graeme Martin, CEO of Takeda Research Investment (TRI)—the corporate venture arm of Takeda Pharmaceutical.
Takeda Research Investment: Reaching Beyond the Land of the Rising Sun
This insightful conversation features Graeme Martin, CEO of Takeda Research Investment (TRI) the corporate venture arm of Takeda Pharmaceutical, the largest pharma company in Japan and among the largest in the world. Dr. Martin shares TRI’s plans to invest US$100 million seed money in a variety of early-stage innovative ventures, to help expand Takeda’s research horizons outside Japan. With a plan to invest in 4-5 new efforts a year, TRI hopes to eventually manage a steady state investment of about 20 companies that will include both minority investments and active, collaborative partnerships designed to create synergies with Takeda’s considerable R&D resources.
Graeme Martin
Dr. Martin is President and CEO of TRI with day-to-day responsibility for operations. He brings more than 28 years of pharmaceutical R&D experience, primarily in multinational Pharmas (Wellcome; Glaxo Wellcome: Hoffman La Roche). He was responsible for the discovery and preclinical development of Zomig®, marketed worldwide for the acute treatment of migraine. More recently, Dr. Martin served as Chief Technical Officer at Telik Inc. with responsibility for technology and business development before establishing a Bay Area biopharmaceutical consulting operation, Discovery-Insight. Dr. Martin received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacology from the University of Bath, and his doctorate from University College, London, UK.
Takeda Research Investment
Takeda Research Investment, Inc. (TRI) is the corporate venture arm of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TPC) a world-class pharmaceutical company and the largest in Japan. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda America Holdings, Inc., TRI started operations in 2002. Their aim is to encourage and support therapeutic innovation in biopharmaceutical companies and academic centres of excellence, through early stage capital investment and provision of access to the resources of a multinational pharmaceutical company.
