Hiroshi Mikitani, whose Rakuten Group Inc. is losing billions of dollars to break into Japan’s wireless market, said he’s devoting a fifth of his time to a US-based biotech startup for cancer treatments, describing it as “a social project” where profitability isn’t a top priority.
“I don’t think there’s a problem with the use of my time,” Mikitani said in an interview in Yokohama, Japan, where he spoke at conference held by the American Society of Clinical Oncology last week. “I probably work three times as much as other people. My role is to make decisions and make action plans; it’s not about time.”
Yet time is of the essence for the billionaire founder of the Rakuten e-commerce empire, which has sold new stock, listed its banking unit and amassed debt after four years of mounting losses at its mobile-phone business. Mikitani, a Harvard Business School graduate, pioneered Japanese e-commerce when he started his company in 1997, three years before Amazon.com Inc. began operations in the country.
Rakuten Medical, based in San Diego, employs about 200 people and specializes in a therapy that uses light and immunotherapy drugs to fight cancer. It applies a method developed by Hisataka Kobayashi at the US National Cancer Institute. The biotech startup is already generating revenue, unlike many that don’t have sales for a long time.
Japan granted conditional accelerated approval in 2020 for its most advanced drug to treat inoperable or recurrent head and neck cancer, and has been used in about 300 cases. The infusion Akalux is estimated to generate ¥3.8 billion ($26.4 million) in annual sales at the peak level by fiscal 2028, according to documents by the health ministry.
Mikitani spent at least a half day at the conference on Thursday, speaking and giving press briefings. He also hosted a business gathering called “Rakuten Optimism” nearby last week.
“My value lies not simply in running a business but in making a breakthrough,” Mikitani said. “In that sense, my strength was needed here to some extent.”
Mikitani initially made a personal investment in the biotech startup in 2013, as he searched for a cure for his late father who suffered from pancreatic cancer. He became CEO in 2018 and renamed it Rakuten Medical Inc. the following year.
Rakuten has invested at least $100 million in the venture and has about 20% stake in the company. Other investors include a venture capital General Catalyst and SBI Holdings Inc.
While Rakuten Medical isn’t aggressively seeking profits, Mikitani said he wants to make the business financially sustainable so that it can continue to invest in research and grow. It’s also running a global trial to test the medicine in places including the US and India. Akalux has received fast-track designation from the US regulators, according to the company.
“I’m confident that it’ll be self propelled,” Mikitani said. “We brought it this far, outside investors are likely to be the main investors in the future.”