Corporate Venture Capital

Hidekazu Ishida, DVM, Ph.D

Corporate Venture Capitalist, Head of CVI Office
Hidekazu Ishida joined Eisai Co., Ltd. in 2020, and has worked on a variety of global venture investments including minority investments, capital and business alliances, M&A　(Acqui-hiring), and Exits gaining over 2 billion JPY. Previously, he worked as an in-house analyst for the Investment Banking division of SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., and pursued deal originations in pharmaceutical/healthcare sectors. Furthermore, he was responsible for increasing valuations of startups by supporting business developments, and creating equity story etc. and assessing valuation as an IPO professional service, particularly in the digital health area. Before that, he engaged in planning and establishing new business with other sectors such as insurance companies at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., where his career started as a pharmaceutical researcher to develop novel drugs for tuberculosis and malaria in 2011. He graduated from Kitasato University with a DVM, and received his Ph.D. (Immunology/Infectious diseases) from Kyushu University.

Ryutaro Adachi, Ph.D, CFA

Corporate Venture Capitalist, CVI Office
Ryutaro Adachi joined Eisai Co., Ltd. in 2020 and has been involved in global strategic investment activities in biotech and digital-related startups. In collaboration with laboratories and corporate, he has been leading investments in small-molecule, biologics, oligonucleotide, and gene-therapy as well as digital technologies intended for neurological diseases. Previously, he worked for 13 years in drug discovery research with a foundation in biochemistry and molecular biology at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Since 2017, he served as a venture capitalist in a Japanese private equity firm, where he led investments in a portfolio diversified with biotech and other cutting edge technology startups as well as managed fund operations. He received his M.Sc. from Osaka University and his Ph.D. from Tsukuba University. He is a CFA charterholder.

Dan Araki, M.Sc.

Corporate Venture Capitalist, CVI Office
Dan Araki joined Eisai Co., Ltd. in 2022. Previously he worked for SBI Investment, a Tokyo-based venture capital firm where he was responsible for sourcing, conducting due diligence, execution and monitoring after investment in biotech startups in Japan, the United States and Europe. Prior to his career in startup finance, he worked as a researcher for five years at PeptiDream Inc., a pharmaceutical enterprise dedicated to discovering novel macrocyclic peptides for therapeutic applications. He received his M.Sc. from University of Wisconsin Madison and a B.A. from The University of Chicago.

Keisuke Hashimoto, Ph.D

Corporate Venture Capitalist, CVI Office
Keisuke Hashimoto joined Eisai Co., Ltd. in 2009, and became a member of the CVI team in 2024. He is engaged in strategic and global investments in startups related to the healthcare ecosystem, including digital health. Prior to joining the CVI team, he was involved in drug discovery for novel therapeutics targeting central nervous system disorders. With expertise in behavioral pharmacology and neurophysiology, he contributed to drug discovery research aimed at both symptomatic treatment and disease modification for disorders associated with neuronal hyperexcitability. He also spent time in the US as a visiting scholar, conducting joint research with academia. With a strong interest in non-pharmacological therapies, he was actively involved in R&D and business planning through open innovation. He graduated from the School of Pharmacy at Hoshi University, obtained his pharmacist license, and earned both his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Hoshi University's graduate school.

Taro Ishibashi, M.Eng

Corporate Venture Capitalist, CVI Office
Taro Ishibashi joined Eisai Co., Ltd. in 2019, and became a member of the CVI team in 2024. He is responsible for investments related to DX, with a focus on AI, data analytics, and cybersecurity. Prior to joining CVI team, he was involved in the development of digital products in the areas of dementia and oncology. He led the development of AI applications for adverse event management and detection, as well as cognitive decline risk prediction, targeting both healthcare providers and consumers. Prior to Eisai, he spent approximately 10 years at Itochu Techno-Solutions Corporation, working on R&D infrastructure implementation, platform development, web services, and AI solutions for domestic pharmaceutical companies. He is also an expert in the NLP tool Quid, with strengths in partner scouting, patent and literature analysis, and topic modeling. He received his M.Eng. and a B.A. from the University of Miyazaki.