No.3479
Healthcare Startups in Japan: Key Research Findings 2024
Corporate Questionnaire Revealed Downtrend in Funding Landscape of Healthcare Startups
Yano Research Institute (the President, Takashi Mizukoshi) conducted a corporate questionnaire to healthcare startups in Japan and found out their current status and future perspectives. This press release denotes some of our findings from the questionnaire.
Summary of Research Findings
The corporate questionnaire was carried out between November and December 2023 to 51 domestic startups whose business domain is mainly in healthcare or medical care. Viewing the respondents by attribute, approximately 80 percent were either a “university startup”, established typically by lab (professor) of a university or Technology Licensing Organization (TLO), or an “independent startup”, a spin-out entity created by an individual that has a background in a research institution or a healthcare company. Business domain of respondents was extensive, ranging from medicine and health-tech (drug discovery, medical device, artificial intelligence for medicine, etc.) to foods, dietary supplements, and long-term care.
Noteworthy Topics
Corporate Questionnaire Revealed Downtrend in Funding Landscape of Healthcare Startups
The respondents were asked about the changes in business landscape compared to five years ago (compared to the time of its establishment if it has not been established for 5 years). When asked about the “funding landscape” (single answer question), the number of respondents that answered they see a “downturn” exceeded those that answered seeing “upturn” (13 said they see an “upturn”, 14 said they see a “downturn”, and 15 said see the situation "has not changed”; companies that said “do not know” or that did not choose any response options were excluded). Given that 30 companies chose “upturn” and only 7 companies chose “downturn” in the last corporate questionnaire conducted 2 years earlier*, although the number of valid responses and major business domains are not the same as those of this year’s survey, it implies that funding landscape for healthcare startups has deteriorated.
*2022 Survey: [Survey period] December 2021 to January 2022; [aggregation target] 61 domestic startups; [survey methodology] mailed questionnaire.
Research Outline
2.Research Object： Startups in the business domain of healthcare or medical care ("healthcare startups")
3.Research Methogology： Face-to-face interviews by the expert researchers (including online interviews), mailed questionnaire, and literature research
In this survey, we looked up healthcare startups, which are newly established businesses whose business domain is mainly in healthcare or medical care (which may be collectively called “healthcare” in Japan). The targets include drug discovery startups, medical device startups, developers of healthcare products that are not subject to regulation under "Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices" (aka "Act on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices"), medical platform businesses such as telemedicine platforms, and providers of process improvement software and services for medical institutions.
For this market report, we also carried out a questionnaire between November and December 2023. A corporate questionnaire was sent to 51 healthcare startups to inquire their current business conditions, such as their focal business area, funding status, and future perspectives. This press release announces some of our findings from the questionnaire.
＜Products and Services in the Market＞
Products and services that relate to medical care/healthcare, solutions (tools and services) for medical institutions, etc.
Published Report
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