Life Science Nation Heads to BioJapan 2026 with Two Seminars on Global Fundraising and International Expansion

By Momo Yamamoto, Senior Investor Research Analyst, LSN

Life Science Nation (LSN) is heading back to Yokohama this October for BioJapan 2026, taking place on October 7-9, 2026 at PACIFICO Yokohama. As one of Asia’s leading partnering events for the life sciences industry, BioJapan provides an important platform for startups, investors, pharmaceutical companies, strategic partners, and ecosystem stakeholders from around the world to connect and explore new opportunities. This year, LSN is pleased to participate in the conference and in two seminars focused on helping life science companies better understand and access international funding and partnership opportunities.

LSN Founder & CEO, Dennis Ford, will join KBIC (Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster) and MEDISO (Medical Innovation Support Office) on October 8, 2026 from 1 PM – 2PM JST at the Japan Healthcare Venture Summit (JHVS), held alongside BioJapan. The session titled “Key Points for Early-Phase Global Fundraising” will introduce government initiatives and programs designed to help early-stage ventures expand internationally and connect with overseas investors. We will join representatives from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), JIC Venture Growth Investments, VC Cell Therapy, United Immunity, CellFold, KBIC, and Mitsubishi Research Institute for a discussion on global fundraising and international growth.

On October 9, 2026 from 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM JST, LSN will be hosting a seminar with KBIC titled: “Inside Global Fundraising: LSN Framework for Startup Readiness and Global Capital Raising Success”. KBIC is Japan’s largest biocluster, hosting more than 340 organizations to accelerate innovation in the region. For life science companies seeking international expansion, global fundraising has become an important strategy for accelerating R&D and commercialization. During this seminar, LSN will introduce latest trends in global fundraising and practical strategies for investor engagement, drawing on LSN’s experience working with thousands of life science companies and investors worldwide. This discussion will feature: Haruhiko Koike (KBIC), Keiko Kobayashi (KBIC), Dennis Ford (LSN), and Claire Jeong (LSN).

This seminar will also highlight the upcoming RESI Asia, taking place in Tokyo at the APA InterContinental on April 13, 2027. As part of LSN’s globally recognized RESI Conference Series, RESI Asia will provide Japanese and Asian startups with opportunities to connect directly with international investors and explore new pathways for global growth.

LSN’s participation at BioJapan reflects its continued commitment to supporting the Japanese life science ecosystem as they seek to expand beyond the domestic market. We look forward to returning to the conference next week!

RESI Boston 2026: Your Complete Conference Guide 

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN)

DF-News-09142022

Life Science Nation (LSN) is pleased to release the RESI Boston 2026 Program Guide for the upcoming hybrid conference, taking place September 22–23 in person at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, followed by virtual partnering on September 25 and September 28–29.

Held during Biotech Week Boston, RESI brings together early-stage life science companies, active investors, strategic partners, and industry leaders for targeted fundraising and business development conversations. The event features the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, investor panels, workshops, company showcases, and RESI Partnering, the conference’s purpose-built platform for scheduling one-on-one meetings.

The Program Guide offers a comprehensive look at the RESI Boston agenda, including sessions focused on the Boston biotech ecosystem, therapeutic innovation, pharma partnering, strategic capital, health systems, chronic disease care, family office investing, and impact investing. Attendees can also explore the participating investor, sponsor, exhibitor, and company lineup, along with networking opportunities throughout the event.

With partnering underway and meeting calendars continuing to fill in the final weeks before the conference, RESI Boston offers innovators a valuable opportunity to connect directly with investors and strategic stakeholders shaping the future of healthcare.

View the program guide and register for RESI Boston today.

Register for RESI Boston

Meet the Investor Judges at RESI Boston 2026 

By Claire Jeong, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

RESI Boston brings together early-stage life science innovators and active investors during Biotech Week Boston. Life Science Nation is pleased to announce the investor judges participating in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC).

This year’s IPC will feature more than 70 companies presenting across 20 pitch sessions over two days, offering startups a valuable opportunity to gain visibility, present directly to investors, and receive real-time feedback from experienced decision-makers.

Each pitch session will be evaluated by a panel of investor and strategic partner judges with expertise spanning therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, and life science tools. Companies will deliver a six-minute presentation followed by seven minutes of live investor Q&A, giving judges the opportunity to assess scientific differentiation, commercial potential, and investment readiness.

All IPC companies will also have a dedicated space in the RESI Exhibition Hall, creating additional opportunities for follow-up conversations and deeper engagement with investors and conference attendees.

RESI Boston attendees will be invited to vote with their RESI Cash for their favorite presenting companies. The Top 3 companies will be announced, with winners receiving prizes and additional exposure through the LSN Newsletter.

See the investors serving as judges for this year’s RESI Boston Innovator’s Pitch Challenge:

Featured RESI Boston IPC Judge
René Bastón
René Bastón
Covenant Venture Capital
Caleb Bell
Caleb Bell
Beyond Next Ventures
Randy Berholtz
Randy Berholtz
Mesa Verde Venture Partners
Shailesh Chavan
Shailesh Chavan
Ingenious Global Venture Partners
Bruce Cohen
Bruce Cohen
Xeraya Capital
Yvette Ferreira
Yvette Ferreira
Xcellerant Ventures
Navin Govind
Navin Govind
Evidence Ventures
Ole Henrik Bang Andreasen
Ole Henrik Bang Andreasen
Avant Bio
Christopher Hupp
Christopher Hupp
Ipsen S.A.
Deepak Jha
Deepak Jha
Autobahn Labs
James Lee
James Lee
Unistone Ventures
Claire Leurent
Claire Leurent
AbbVie Ventures
Heather Loring
Heather Loring
AstraZeneca
James Massaquoi
James Massaquoi
Glasswing Ventures
Mahesh Narayanan
Mahesh Narayanan
Neuvation Ventures
John Pennett
John Pennett
Mid Atlantic Bio Angels
Garrett Peterson
Garrett Peterson
Yahara Ventures
Andrew Rae
Andrew Rae
Woodgreen Ventures
Raza Shaikh
Raza Shaikh
Launchpad Venture Group
Justin Siemann
Justin Siemann
Sontag Foundation
Sarah Tao
Sarah Tao
CSL Behring
Martin Taylor
Martin Taylor
F-Prime Capital
Lily Ting
Lily Ting
Lundbeck
Sally Wang Liang
Sally Wang Liang
Xpanse Venture

Register for RESI Boston 2026

RESI Boston Investor Speakers

By Claire Jeong, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

RESI Boston brings together active early-stage investors and life science innovators for two days of investor-led programming focused on capital, partnering, and market dynamics shaping healthcare innovation.

The agenda will feature leading biotech VCs, family offices, corporate scouts, health system investors, and impact-focused investors sharing how they evaluate opportunities, where they see momentum, and what founders need to understand as they prepare to raise capital and build strategic partnerships.

From Boston’s biotech ecosystem and early-stage therapeutic investing to pharma partnering, health systems, strategic capital, chronic disease, women’s health, family offices, and impact investing, the panel program offers practical insight across the full life science financing landscape.

These conversations are designed to help entrepreneurs better understand investor priorities, refine their fundraising strategy, and build relationships with the people actively shaping the future of healthcare innovation.

RESI Boston takes place in person September 22–23 at the Westin Copley Place, with virtual partnering September 25 and September 28–29. Whether attending in Boston or virtually, participants can connect with investors, gain perspective from the panel stage, and advance their next conversations through targeted partnering.

Register for RESI Boston 2026
Featured RESI Boston Investor Speakers
John Abeles
John Abeles
Northlea Partners
Marc Appel
Marc Appel
Pacific Bridge NY
Farnaz Bakhshi
Farnaz Bakhshi
ACS BrightEdge
Caleb Bell
Caleb Bell
Beyond Next Ventures
Alan Chiu
Alan Chiu
Breakthrough T1D
Scott Davis
Scott Davis
Sontag Foundation
Ronald Dorenbos
Ronald Dorenbos
BioFrontline Ltd.
Shane Duffy
Shane Duffy
Avanos Medical, Inc.
Tao Fang
Tao Fang
MRL Ventures Fund (MRLV)
David Fogel
David Fogel
Mass Medical Angels
Navin Govind
Navin Govind
Evidence Ventures
Nimisha Gupta
Nimisha Gupta
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc
William Hsu, PhD
William Hsu, PhD
NuFund Venture Group
Austin Hwang
Austin Hwang
Analog Garage
Jonathan Ilicki
Jonathan Ilicki
Industrifonden
Renaud Jacquemart
Renaud Jacquemart
Omnium Global
Rohit Jain
Rohit Jain
HBS Alumni Angels of Northern California
Satoshi Konagai
Satoshi Konagai
Astellas Venture Management (AVM)
Jason Kraus
Jason Kraus
Boston Harbor Angels
Kathy Ku
Kathy Ku
Sazze Partners
Sally Wang Liang
Sally Wang Liang
Xpanse Venture
Nate Macht
Nate Macht
ACS BrightEdge
Nune Martiros
Nune Martiros
Paladin Capital Group
Andrew Merken
Andrew Merken
Polsinelli PC
Nikhil Mutyal
Nikhil Mutyal
AstraZeneca
Rohit Nuwal
Rohit Nuwal
TELUS Ventures
Maggie O'Toole
Maggie O'Toole
LabCentral
Soyoung Park
Soyoung Park
1004 Venture Partners
Dushyant Pathak
Dushyant Pathak
Autobahn Labs
Garrett Peterson
Garrett Peterson
Yahara Ventures
Andrew Rae
Andrew Rae
Woodgreen Ventures
Parthiban Rajasekaran
Parthiban Rajasekaran
Sanofi
Armin Rump
Armin Rump
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Mo Soleja
Mo Soleja
Golden Seeds
Yvanka de Soysa
Yvanka de Soysa
Foreground Capital
Daniel Teper
Daniel Teper
YADAY Health
Andrew Thomson
Andrew Thomson
Ipsen S.A.
John Tremblay
John Tremblay
Launchpad Venture Group
Le Zhan
Le Zhan
Yunion Healthcare Ventures

Hot Investor Mandate: Cross-Border Early-Stage VC Invests $150K–$1M in TechBio and Technology-Enabled Healthcare Companies

An early-stage venture capital investor is focused on globally scalable technology companies with connections to Southeast Asia and the United States. The firm primarily invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, and Pre-Series A stages, typically deploying approximately $150K–$1M per company and generally targeting ownership positions of 5–15%. A meaningful portion of the firm’s capital is allocated to life sciences and healthcare innovation. The firm leverages technical expertise, entrepreneurial experience, and international operating networks to support early-stage companies pursuing global growth. 

Within life sciences and healthcare, the firm focuses on techbio and technology-enabled healthcare innovation. Areas of interest include computational biology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, protein and RNA technologies, gene editing and CRISPR, precision therapeutics, AI-enabled drug discovery, biomaterials, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, synthetic biology, screening and diagnostics, digital health, healthcare analytics, and health data infrastructure. The firm is comfortable investing at very early stages, including preclinical and research-stage opportunities, and is generally indication-agnostic, with additional interest in neurotechnology and neuroscience. 

From a company and management team perspective, the firm seeks ambitious founders and technically strong teams developing differentiated intellectual property and defensible technology platforms. The firm can lead or co-invest and generally seeks board participation when leading a financing. The firm actively supports portfolio companies with technology strategy, business scaling, international expansion, recruiting, and future fundraising through its network of operators, technologists, and industry experts. 

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email salescore@lifesciencenation.com. 

Hot Investor Mandate: US-Based Healthcare Focused Fund Invests Around $10M in Companies Developing Novel Therapeutics, Open to Various Modalities

The firm is a U.S.-based healthcare investment manager focused exclusively on biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies. The firm invests across both public and private markets and has more than two decades of experience investing in life sciences. Through its dedicated private investment strategy, the firm supports emerging biotechnology companies from Seed through Series B, with initial investments typically averaging approximately $10M and significant capacity for follow-on participation. Investments are primarily structured as equity, although convertible instruments may be considered for select Seed-stage opportunities. The firm primarily targets companies in the United States and Europe. 

The firm invests exclusively in therapeutics and is broadly agnostic across modalities and disease areas. The firm evaluates small molecules, biologics, antibodies, RNA therapeutics, cell and gene therapies, and other emerging therapeutic platforms. Areas of interest include oncology, immunology, rare diseases, metabolic disorders, and other indications characterized by significant unmet medical need. The firm is comfortable investing from the preclinical stage onward and prioritizes differentiated science, strong biological rationale, and programs capable of generating meaningful clinical value. 

From a company and management team perspective, the firm seeks strong scientific founders and experienced leadership teams capable of advancing complex therapeutic programs through key clinical and value-inflection milestones. The firm can lead, co-lead, or participate in investment syndicates and may seek board representation or observer rights. The firm takes an active approach to portfolio support, working with management on financing strategy, clinical development, business development, and long-term company building. 

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email salescore@lifesciencenation.com. 

Hot Investor Mandate: Global CVC Invests $1–3M in Healthcare and Life Sciences Companies Through Evergreen Fund

The firm is the corporate venture capital arm of a diversified global company with substantial healthcare operations. The firm operates through an evergreen investment model and invests globally, with particular activity across North America, Europe, and Asia. Initial investments typically range from approximately $1M–$3M, with the capacity to invest $5M or more over the life of a portfolio company. The firm pursues strategic investments that complement its parent organization’s healthcare businesses and long-term innovation priorities. 

The firm invests across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, bioprocessing, and other enabling healthcare technologies. Areas of particular interest include pain management, critical care, kidney disease, musculoskeletal disorders, drug delivery, patient monitoring, digital therapeutics, and technologies that improve healthcare delivery and clinical outcomes. The firm is generally stage-agnostic but tends to favor opportunities demonstrating meaningful technical validation, preclinical proof-of-concept, or early clinical data. The firm evaluates investments partly based on their potential strategic relevance to its broader healthcare capabilities. 

From a company and management team perspective, the firm invests exclusively in private companies and is comfortable partnering with early-stage teams that are still developing their leadership and operational capabilities. The firm takes a collaborative, strategic approach and can provide access to global healthcare expertise, technical and manufacturing resources, and commercial relationships. The firm generally seeks board participation or observer rights and actively supports portfolio companies with business development, strategic partnerships, product development, and long-term growth. 

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email salescore@lifesciencenation.com.