Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem
Funds Japanese pharmaceutical startups from preclinical to phase two growth with venture-collaborative backing.
The Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem is an AMED subsidy program that supports pharmaceutical startups carrying out practical drug development — covering non-clinical studies, Phase 1 trials, Phase 2 trials, and exploratory clinical trials — where a registered venture capital firm invests more than one-third of the total expenses covered by the subsidy. The program was established in 2021 under Japan's national strategy for strengthening vaccine development and production systems, and subsequently expanded in October 2022 to cover drug discovery fields beyond infectious diseases where financing is difficult to secure. Japanese subsidiaries of foreign corporations established for fund-raising or commercialization in overseas markets are explicitly eligible.
The program maintains a list of registered venture capitals (VCs) that provide hands-on drug discovery commercialisation support; the VC registration list was last updated April 1, 2026. As of that date, 35 registered VCs are enrolled, including international firms such as 4BIO Partners, Blackstone Life Sciences, B Capital Group, RA Capital Management, and The Column Group, alongside Japanese domestic funds. The program covers a broad therapeutic scope including cancer, intractable and rare diseases, infectious disease, aging and lifestyle-related diseases, mental and neurological disorders, and child health. Program management is overseen by a Program Director, Program Supervisor, and Program Officers who provide guidance and may review or suspend individual project plans as necessary.
AMED issues calls for proposals on a multiple-per-year schedule; specific call windows are published as an image-based schedule on the program page at amed.go.jp. Prospective applicants — both VCs and drug discovery venture companies — may request individual pre-application consultations with AMED's Division of Medical Ecosystem Development by email. Applications are submitted through the AMED portal. The program targets both domestic Japanese and international commercialisation pathways.
Vaccines, therapeutics, and drug discovery technologies across all disease areas (expanded from infectious disease only in October 2022).
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