InfiniteBio

InfiniteBio is located in Palo Alto, CA; the heart of Silicon Valley. Our company was created by the former female executive of SC Bioscience, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation. With her long experience in the industry, our CEO Akiko Futamura PhD, has created a business network throughout Japan, North America and Europe with leading universities, laboratories, ventures, pharmaceutical companies and investment firms.

We believe that there are many untapped technologies in many laboratories around the world that have great potential for commercialization and may benefit our lives in many different ways. We also believe that forming successful business strategy around unique technologies will foster regional economic development and appreciation of science in our society. With this in mind, InfiniteBio will assist you in taking a single technology to a commercializing business opportunity by finding right partners, investors and distributors. Utilization of a technology with right attitude and direction can make a difference in our society, education and economy. InfiniteBio would like to be a part of your business strategy in assisting your success through creating a business network around your technology. We have extensive knowledge and network in Japanese biotechnology industry, government sectors, universities and other industries to assist your business expansion into Japan.

Japan’s biotechnology market was estimated at 1.66 trillion yen in 2003, making it the second largest in the world following the U.S. The market is still growing and will reach the 25 trillion yen level by 2010. According to the Japan Bioindusutry Association’s most recent survey of Japanese bioventures in 1998, there were only 167 operating throughout Japan. In 2004 the number has risen to 464 representing a 280% growth over a period of six years. This growth is due to the easing regulations for the academics at national universities to start ventures, much of innovative biotechnology companies emerging have been created to commercialize technologies developed by universities. Also Japan accounts for a high share of patent applications submitted in field such as sugar chain engineering, microorganisms and enzymes, biochemicals and bioinformatics. Japan’s sugar chain engineering technologies are particularly strong and Japan accounts for 26% of the biotechnology patents filed in this field.

Source: "Biotechnology Strategy Guidelines"
(December, 2002; Biotechnology Strategy Council)

Note: The data cover patent applications between 1990 and 1998, searched and retrieved through WPINDEX (STN).
Source: "Survey on Trends Concerning Key Biotechnology," Japan Patent Office

To improve the competitive landscape of the Japanese pharmaceutical industry, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has established a “Pharmaceutical Industry Vision,” which sets forth the government’s basic stance of welcoming international companies to Japan. The goal was to make the Japanese market and attractive environment where companies from all over the world could compete and engage in research and produce and sell products regardless of where they are funded by international or domestic capital.

Thanks to new innovations as well as growing competition fostered by deregulation, the Japanese market for biotechnology products is expected to expand rapidly. Biotechnology sectors that are considered particularly promising are new drug development, medicine and healthcare, and the bio-service sectors、bio-devices, and functional foods.. Functional foods are another market that is expanding with the recent interest in healthy lifestyles.

New Drug Development
	It is estimated that 30% of al drugs approved will be bio-pharmaceuticals.

Medicine and healthcare
	Regenerative medicine and genetic therapy is being focused. Many foreign companies have already entered related sectors such as equipment and reagents for bioresearch and laboratory automation systems.

Bio-service
	The size of the bio-service market in 2003 was 32.8 billion yen.

Bio-devices
	Sales of mass spectrometers and protein analysis equipment have been continued to grow.

Functional Foods
	Functional foods for seniors, organic foods, and genetically modified foods are being widely developed and distributed as this sector continues to expand into what is estimated to be a 3.4trillion yen market by 2010.

(Resource: JETRO Attractive Sectors - Biotechnology)