Astellas Launches DigiTx Partners, A Digital Health Investment Company In Partnership With MPM Capital

TOKYO & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Astellas Pharma Inc. (President and CEO: Yoshihiko Hatanaka, “Astellas”) and DigiTx Partners LLC (CEO: David Kim, “DigiTx Partners”) announce that Astellas has launched DigiTx Partners, a digital health investment company in partnership with MPM Capital, Inc. (“MPM Capital”). DigiTx Partners will invest in the digital health space broadly, with a special focus on companies which create solutions that improve patient outcomes and provide substantial synergy with a broader pharma business. Although the emphasis will be on earlier stage companies, investments will be made in both start-ups and growth stage companies.

“Exploring unprecedented medical solutions by leveraging Astellas’ strengths in the innovative drug business and integrating these strengths with various medical and healthcare areas is one of the important initiatives of our “Creating Innovation”

“Exploring unprecedented medical solutions by leveraging Astellas’ strengths in the innovative drug business and integrating these strengths with various medical and healthcare areas is one of the important initiatives of our “Creating Innovation” strategy as part of Astellas Strategic Plan. Through the investment activities of DigiTx Partners, we will explore the business opportunities in the growing field of digital health and extend our knowledge in the area. We look forward to supporting those companies with technologies that will deliver innovative solutions impacting patients’ healthcare and wellness,” said Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Astellas.

The effort will be led by David Kim, MD, who has deep investing and operating experience in both the healthcare and digital sectors. He was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of Lumiata, Inc. a venture-backed predictive analytics company which is positioned at the intersection of data science and medical science. In addition to his prior successful investment experiences at MPM Capital, David served as a Partner at Pinnacle Ventures LLC, investing both equity and venture debt funds, and worked as an equity research analyst at several financial institutions. David is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (MD) and Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA).

“In the digital health space, there is no shortage of innovative technologies and companies that would markedly improve healthcare and the effective delivery of this care to the community. DigiTx Partners aims to identify and foster those companies that will meaningfully contribute to this improvement. From day one, it will be able to leverage the considerable resources of both Astellas and MPM Capital to execute on this goal,” remarked David.

About Astellas -- Astellas Pharma Inc., based in Tokyo, Japan, is a company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. We focus on Urology, Oncology, Immunology, Nephrology and Neuroscience as prioritized therapeutic areas while advancing new therapeutic areas and discovery research leveraging new technologies/modalities. We are also creating new value by combining internal capabilities and external expertise in the medical/healthcare business. Astellas is on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients. For more information, please visit our website at www.astellas.com/en.

About MPM -- MPM Capital (www.mpmcapital.com) is an early-stage life sciences venture investing firm with a track record of identifying and building world-class companies around transformational treatments and cures. With its deep experience, dedicated team of operating executives and distinguished Medical and Scientific Advisory Board, MPM Capital is powering medical breakthroughs that transform patient lives.