Ricoh will launch the 1 billion yen (US$7.27 million) corporate venture capital fund together with Tokyo-based Venture Labo Investment as early as September. The seed fund, which will be operated for 10 years, is the first in Japan to specialise in mRNA technology, according to Ricoh.
Now widely recognised for its use in coronavirus vaccines, mRNA can be used to trigger the body’s immune response to a variety of illnesses. Companies like BioNTech and Moderna are working to harness the technology to prevent other infectious diseases and treat conditions like ovarian cancer.
Of the hundreds of biopharmaceutical startups in Japan, around 20 are believed to be working with mRNA technology. Ricoh aims to provide a wide range of support for companies in the field, from providing seed capital to helping the launch of new startups at universities and other research institutions.
Ricoh entered into contract development and manufacturing of mRNA pharmaceuticals with its acquisition of US-based Elixirgen Scientific in July. In September 2021, Elixirgen became the first contract drugmaker to produce mRNA pharmaceuticals in Japan.
Ricoh plans to invest more than ¥1 billion to expand production capacity 600 times by 2025 to 60 grams a week – enough for roughly 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. It hopes that supporting Japanese startups in the field could help expand Elixirgen’s operations.
“There are a variety of different technologies involved in formulating mRNA drugs, and it would be hard for one company to have them all,” said Motoki Azuma of Elixirgen Scientific Japan. “Ricoh’s hubs and technologies will help with developing pharmaceuticals from scratch.”
Ricoh’s business remains significantly reliant on photocopiers and other office equipment, though demand for these products is expected to shrink as more workplaces go paperless. It wants to tap know-how from these operations, like mass spectrometry analysis used for printer ink, to bolster Elixirgen’s operations and turn mRNA pharmaceuticals into a new business pillar.
The global market for mRNA therapeutics is expected to grow to US$584 million in 2028 from US$16 million in 2023, according to British research company Evaluate.
Ricoh’s push also comes as the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted weaknesses in Japan’s pharmaceutical industry. The only mRNA vaccines now available in Japan are those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, both overseas players.
Startups working on mRNA technology abroad, like BioNTech and CureVac, have received big investments. But there have been few frameworks that provide funding for early-stage startups and research institutions in Japan.
Still, the investment landscape here is starting to shift. Industrial tape and film maker Nitto Denko entered into a partnership with Kyoto-based aceRNA Technologies to jointly develop an mRNA therapy. Bolstering domestic pharmaceutical production has also emerged as a priority for economic security, and Ricoh’s seed fund could spur further investments in the field.