Tomoko Maeda is a Venture Partner at Synapto Ventures, where she leads business development activities in Japan and South-Korea, including client relationship management and fundraising. Maeda-san is a highly experienced professional in the pharmaceutical industry with a proven track record in research, global marketing, and business development across infectious diseases, immunology, oncology and regenerative medicine. She possesses strong leadership and networking skills with key stakeholders in academia and industry, particularly in Japan, Korea, the UK, and the US.
Maeda-san is currently Member of the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (Drug Discovery Research, R&D Subcommittee), Board Member of Kinki (Kansai area, Japan) Bio-Industry Development Association, and Member of The Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe, Japan (Selection Committee, Business and Research Accelerator Grants).
Maeda-san is Head of Research Beyond Borders Japan at Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim. She is leading Boehringer Ingelheim’s external innovation strategy in Japan and South-Korea, driving collaborations with academia and biotech. Maeda-san successfully managed over 20 research partnerships, securing patents and expanding strategic agreements with top universities like Kyoto University. She provides her expertise in scouting and managing early-stage collaborations, engaging diverse stakeholders across R&D, legal, and business development. Through her leadership position, Maeda-san identifies and translates external innovation into tangible results.
Maeda-san spent more than 15 years at Shionogi where she ended up in leadership positions such as Head of Transactions, Business Development, and Director of Global Innovation Office, Pharmaceutical Research Division. During her extensive career at Shionogi, Maeda-san successfully launched and led open innovation initiatives, including the Japan Microbiome Consortium. She closed significant collaboration agreements and investments with biotech companies like Hsiri Therapeutics and Nemesis Bioscience. She established collaborations with prominent institutions like Imperial College London and the Milner Therapeutics Consortium. Furthermore, Maeda-san effectively led cross-functional teams across global organisations.
From an academic standpoint, Maeda-san was Visiting Associate Professor at the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she led scientific research projects on immune reactions against dengue virus antigens. Â
Maeda-san holds a PhD in Immunology from Tohoku University School of Medicine, as well as a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) from the University of Tokyo.
