Satoshi Konagai

Satoshi Konagai is the Investment Lead at Astellas Venture Management, having originally joined the corporate venture capital firm as a Senior Investment Manager in 2020. Before transitioning to venture capital, he spent over fifteen years at Astellas Pharma Inc., beginning his career in 2004 as a pharmacology research scientist focused on kinase inhibitors, biologics, and immuno-oncology. In 2015, he moved to the pharmaceutical company's strategic department at its Tokyo headquarters, where he directed global research and development initiatives across oncology, ophthalmology, and regenerative medicine. Konagai holds a Master of Life Science from Kyoto University and a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. His current investment focus centers on later-stage biotechnology opportunities, combining his scientific research background with business strategy to evaluate therapeutics developers such as Avilar Therapeutics.