01.
01.
Oncology, immunology, urology.
The therapeutic areas Taiho Pharmaceutical has commercialized in for sixty years. We invest where our parent has clinical, regulatory, and commercial muscle — not where the deck looks good.
泰豊 — Ten years of syndicated capital
The harder thing in early-stage oncology is not capital.
It is the partner who can take a Series A asset across the Pacific. What Taiho Ventures adds is the cap-table credibility of a $400M Japanese pharmaceutical company — and a path from preclinical to global commercialization.
§
Mandate
A syndicate position, taken seriously.
In 2016, a four-person team in Menlo Park began deploying capital from Taiho Pharmaceutical’s first venture fund. The syndicates they joined were already crowded — seed and Series A rounds for early-stage oncology assets routinely included ARCH, GV, MPM, Pfizer Ventures.
What Taiho added was something the founders had not been asking for, and the lead VCs had not been able to offer: the credibility of a $400M Japanese specialty pharmaceutical company on the cap table. Ten years later, that has turned out to be harder to find than money.
02.
02.
Series A and B. Sometimes earlier.
Most rounds close on a term sheet. A few close on a thesis about who the founder wants on the cap table ten years from now. We are usually in the second category, and often the third or fourth name on the wire.
03.
03.
Tokyo and Menlo Park, on the same call.
Joint diligence between the Menlo Park partners and Taiho R&D in Tokushima on every clinical-stage investment. The result is a Series B board with American venture firms and a Japanese pharmaceutical company in the same room, before the round closes.
Portfolio
Twenty-three positions, ten years.
A subset of active and exited names across oncology, immunology, and platform biology. The full register sits in the annual letter; we do not publish every position. Logos belong to the companies — Taiho Ventures sits on the cap table.
Anavo Therapeutics 
Arcus BiosciencesOncology 
Breakpoint TherapeuticsOncology 
cellviePlatform 
Cullinan OncologyOncology 
Delphia Therapeutics 
Dren Bio 
EpiBiologicsPlatform 
Halda TherapeuticsOncology 
Harpoon TherapeuticsOncology 
Incendia Therapeutics 
LiberoTheraImmunology 
Light Horse TherapeuticsPlatform 
Magnet BiomedicinePlatform 
NextCureOncology 
NormunityOncology 
ORIC PharmaceuticalsOncology 
Orna TherapeuticsPlatform 
STORM TherapeuticsPlatform 
TheolyticsOncology 
Transition BioPlatform 
Vertero 
Werewolf TherapeuticsOncology
Active and exited positions. Logos remain the property of the named companies.
Read a case in brief →A case, in brief
Two years later, the company had a clinical asset and a problem most U.S. biotechs face exactly once: the Japanese partnership conversation. Tokushima Phase I trials, MHRA pre-IND meetings, the kind of thing a deck cannot wave away.
The reason Taiho was on the cap table — not as a strategic, but as a venture investor with a $400M fund and a parent with sixty years of in-country commercialization — is the part that mattered. Capital was always going to come.
— Excerpt, 2024 annual letter
Read the 2024 letterPlate 17 / 164:5 · duotone editorialPlate proof — pending exposure
Plate 03 — section break — cases into anniversary, pending
Ten Years
2016 — 2026.
Ten years of cap-table positions, syndicates joined, partnerships brokered, founders who took our call when no other Japanese investor was returning theirs. We are not interested in self-coronation. We are interested in the next ten.
— Tim Wakeling, Managing Partner
Menlo Park, May 2026
- Total committed
- $400M
- Active positions
- 21
- Realized exits
- 6
- Syndicate co-investors
- 38
For founders and lead investors
Begin an outreach.
We read every note. Tell us what you are building, who is leading the round, and where Taiho would sit on the cap table.
partners@taihoventures.comResponse time48 hours, Pacific. Sooner if a round is closing.
Read recent cases →Plate 18 / 164:5 · duotone portraitPlate proof — pending exposure