Partner Call – Join the Biotech Business Mission to Japan 2025

Are you an EIC beneficiary in the Biotech and Pharma sector looking to showcase your technologies, products, or services to potential partners and clients from Japan and beyond? Would your business like to present its technologies, products or services to potential partners and clients from Japan and beyond? If so, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation has an exciting opportunity for you! This autumn, showcase your business during the Biotech mission in Japan. Don't miss out on some great partnering opportunities! 
 

Apply by 12 June 2025 

Take part in the mission to Osaka and Yokohama (Japan) from 6 to 10 October 2025  

About the mission 

The mission will start in Osaka on October 6 (Mon) with participation in the EU-Japan Biotech and Pharma Partnering Conference, a one-day partnering event. This will be followed by a site visit on October 7 (Tue), organised in collaboration with local authorities and biotech clusters in the Osaka region, Japan’s second largest Biotech & Pharma Ecosystem and historical Centre of Drug discovery in Japan. 

From Wednesday, the mission will participate in BioJapan 2025 in Yokohama, the premier Bio-Industry Partnering Event in Asia. This three-day exhibition and partnering event, from 8 October to 10 October, is an excellent opportunity to engage in partnering meetings with Japanese Biotech Pharma and Healthcare companies. At the joint EU-Japan Centre booth in the exhibition area, each participant will be present with a poster translated into Japanese by the EU-Japan Centre. Centre staff and professional interpreters will help to promote mission participants’ products, technologies and services to assure maximum exposure with visitors of the exhibition. Networking events in the evening will provide additional opportunities to connect with potential business partners and clients. 

Prior to the mission, a briefing webinar will be organised to prepare for the Japanese market, and access to online partnering systems will be provided. 

A detailed agenda is available on the official website. 

Objectives 

• Explore partnering opportunities with Japanese Biotech, Pharma, and Healthcare companies 

• Directly connect with your target through partnering platforms 

• Showcase your business at the exhibition and at networking events 

• Create new business opportunities and partnerships with Japanese companies 

• Gain valuable insights and knowledge about the Japanese market Prepare the ground for practical cluster cooperation with Japanese counterparts 

Participants profile and eligibility 

EIC beneficiaries interested in the call are strongly encouraged to apply and must meet the criteria described in this paragraph. This call for applications targets individuals working for SMEs or Clusters from the European Union, or a European country associated to the Single Market Programme, SME Pillar (COSME strand / strand ‘Competitiveness of SMEs’), active in the following sectors: 

• Drug discovery 

• Drug discovery support including AI-assisted drug development 

• Regenerative medicine 

• Digital Therapeutics such as drug-device combinations, non-pharmacological therapy systems 

More details on the participants profile and the list of eligibility criteria are available on the official webpage. 

Selection 

The Centre will evaluate applicants based on the following selection criteria:  

• strategy and potential regarding Japan  

• relevance for the topic of the mission and the targeted fair 

• professional background of the applicant 

Priority will be given to new applicants. Applicants applying again for the same mission may be selected if they can convincingly explain why another participation would be beneficial for their business with Japan. 

The mission will welcome 12 to 16 participants depending on budget availability. 

What the EU-Japan Centre offers? 

The EU-Japan Centre will cover the expenses for one representative per selected company/cluster for: 

• Access to online partnering platforms 

• Participation in the EU-Japan Biotech and Pharma Partnering Conference in Osaka 

• One-way transportation by Shinkansen from Osaka to Yokohama on the second day of mission 

• Access to the BioJapan partnering area and related network events 

• Individual display stands in the joint EU-Japan Centre booth in the BioJapan exhibition 

• Translation of poster and company profile, as well as printing of the poster for the exhibition 

• Support by EU-Japan Centre staff and professional interpreters at the joint EU-Japan Centre booth

Mission participants are responsible for covering: 

• Flight and other travel expenses to the starting point of the mission in Osaka and from the end point of the mission in Yokohama 

• Accommodation in Osaka and Yokohama 

• Other living expenses in Japan, including local transportation and meals 

Before applying, visit the Frequently Asked Questions section and the official partner call webpage for further details. 

About the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation  

Established in 1987 by the European Commission (DG GROW) and the Japanese Government (METI), the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation promotes all forms of industrial, trade and investment cooperation between the EU and Japan and at improving EU and Japanese companies’ competitiveness and cooperation by facilitating exchanges of experience and know-how between EU and Japanese businesses.