Marubeni Corp. has purchased a 10 percent stake in Biovision Capital Corp., a subsidiary of Softbank Investment Corp. that helps startup biotechnology ventures and manages investment funds, the firms said Monday.
Through the capital tieup, Softbank Investment, a key unit of the Softbank Corp. group, and the major trading house aim to improve investment returns in the field of life sciences, they said.
The companies said the move will bring together Marubeni's ability to gather information on bio-companies in the United States and Europe and its strength in creating businesses; Biovision's strength in project assessment; and Softbank Investment's experience in fostering venture companies.
The firms also intend to promote tieups of venture firms launched by Japanese universities and bio-companies in Europe and the U.S.