Yasunori Kaneko, MD
Managing Director
Skyline Ventures
Yasunori Kaneko is managing director of Skyline Ventures. Founded in 1997, the venture
capital firm specializes in investing in product-focused health care companies.
Dr. Kaneko has been involved in managing and financing U.S. life sciences companies since
1981. He began his career at Genentech, where he spearheaded its business development
activities for the first several years. He was then project leader for the launch of Protropin
(human growth hormone), the first product marketed by Genentech.
In 1987, he became head of corporate finance in the investment banking division of Paribas
Capital Markets Ltd., in Tokyo, where he helped finance Japanese government agencies,
municipalities, and corporations in the Euromarket. He also helped numerous life sciences
companies raise capital. In 1991, he then became senior vice president and CFO of Isis
Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, which went public during his tenure. In 1992, Dr. Kaneko
was recruited to be the original business executive at Tularik Inc., where at various times
he was CFO and vice president of business development until its public offering in 1999.
At Tularik, he led a series of financings and negotiations of a number of corporate partnerships.
Tularik was acquired by Amgen in 2004. He served on the board of LeukoSite until its
merger with Millennium Pharmaceuticals in 1999.
He received an undergraduate degree from Keio University in Tokyo, a medical degree
from Keio University School of Medicine, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School
of Business.
Dr. Kaneko serves on the advisory board of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International
Studies at Stanford University and the board of trustees of Lick-Wilmerding High School
in San Francisco. He also serves on the board of directors of Miraca Holdings, listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Born and raised in Hiroshima, Japan, Dr. Kaneko and his wife, Yumi, live in Hillsborough,
California. They have two children.