Challengers Wanted!! "Innovation Tiger 2026" to be Held. The Fierce Battle Returns

## Press Release Information
Title: Challengers Wanted!! "Innovation Tiger 2026" to be Held. The Fierce Battle Returns
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- Selection system strengthened! In response to strong demand from Korea and Taiwan, the first FAST TRACK (pre-selection) will be held locally.
- Creating opportunities for collaboration between Asian startups and pharmaceutical companies/VCs, further accelerating open innovation.
- Participants will be granted the right to participate in the "Shonan Health Innovation Conference (SHIC) 2026" held in Boston.

iPark Institute Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Toshio Fujimoto; hereinafter "iPark Institute") will hold the public pitch and partnering event "Innovation Tiger 2026" at Shonan Health Innovation Park (hereinafter "Shonan iPark") on September 15, 2026.

Innovation Tiger is a pitch and partnering event organized by Shonan iPark to connect excellent drug discovery seeds from Asia with pharmaceutical companies and VCs. In the first event held on September 30, 2025, there were 79 applications from startups and academia in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, and 16 selected teams were granted the right to participate in SHIC2025 (held in Boston, USA in November 2025), which connects Asian startups with influential overseas investors. (1)

This second event, in addition to the main selection venue similar to last year, will hold a pre-selection "FAST TRACK" locally in Korea and Taiwan from May to July, in response to strong demand from Korea and Taiwan. By quickly discovering promising drug discovery seeds and providing extensive mentoring by industry-experienced experts, we will further accelerate the growth of innovation originating from Asia.

1. Innovation Tiger 2025 Award Winners Announced | News | Shonan Health Innovation Park (Shonan iPark)

### Features of Innovation Tiger 2026

#### Feature 1
Before the main selection on September 15, to discover promising drug discovery seeds through an active approach to rapidly growing Asian startups, FAST TRACK (pre-selection) will be held locally in Korea and Taiwan from May to July. These events will be co-hosted with local organizations.

Korea FAST TRACK Selection Meeting
Date: May 28, 2026
Co-host: Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF)

Taiwan FAST TRACK Selection Meeting
Date: July 17, 2026 (tentative)
Co-host: Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)

#### Feature 2
For initiatives aimed at global-level collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and investors, selected participants will receive mentoring from experts such as business development professionals from pharmaceutical companies and investors, covering business plans, presentation materials, and pitch preparation.

#### Feature 3
A total of eight active major pharmaceutical companies and venture capital firms (hereinafter "VCs") from Japan and overseas will participate as judges, or "Tigers." As before, please pay attention to how participants respond to the sharp insights and fundamental comments from experienced Tigers and how they develop their businesses.

#### Feature 4
Following the previous event, participants will again be granted the right to participate in the "Shonan Health Innovation Conference (SHIC) 2026." SHIC will be held in Boston, USA, in winter 2026, and will include 1-on-1 meetings and partnering with overseas investors and corporate venture capital (hereinafter "CVC") from major pharmaceutical companies.

List of Judges (Tigers) *In no particular order

### Innovation Tiger 2026 Event Outline
Date: September 15 (Tuesday) 13:00-18:00 (tentative)
Venue: Shonan Health Innovation Park (Shonan iPark) Auditorium, 2-26-1 Muraoka-Higashi, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa
Pitch Application: We look forward to your application via the link below
https://airtable.com/appIZ0xVXnNBzGS4V/shriS9zFKY3lYx1C9

### About iPark Institute Co., Ltd.

iPark Institute Co., Ltd. started its business in April 2023, with Industrial Fund Investment Corporation (IIF), Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, and Mitsubishi Corporation as major shareholders. In 2023, it took over the operation of Shonan Health Innovation Park (Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, abbreviated as Shonan iPark), which Takeda Pharmaceutical had been responsible for since 2018. In addition to facility operation and management, it conducts businesses to promote innovation creation, technology exchange, and research collaboration, and to build and revitalize the life science ecosystem. For more details about our company, please see here.

### About Shonan Health Innovation Park (Shonan iPark)

Shonan iPark was established in April 2018 when Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited opened its own research institute to external parties, making it Japan's first pharmaceutical company-initiated science park.
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