Masahide (Masa) Isono

Masahide (Masa) Isono is a Principal at DEFTA Corporation, the venture capital arm of DEFTA Partners. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the Questrom School of Business and a Master of Arts in Economics, both from Boston University. At DEFTA Partners, an international investment firm established in the 1980s by founder George Hara, Isono identifies and funds innovative early-stage technology and healthcare ventures across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm operates three primary global offices located in San Francisco, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Through these hubs, DEFTA has historically backed pioneering biotechnology companies such as Viagene, Isis Pharmaceuticals, and Arris Pharmaceuticals. Operating within the DEFTA Healthcare Technologies division, Isono currently focuses his investment strategy on information and communication technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, advanced therapeutics, and health information and enabling technologies.