After nearly 13 years working for the pharmaceutical company's venture arm, Marian Nakada has retired from corporate venturing.
Marian Nakada, photo courtesy of LinkedIn
Marian Nakada has announced her retirement from corporate venturing, leaving her role at the investment subsidiary of US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.
Nakada joined J&J’s venture arm, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), nearly 13 years ago, and at the time of her retirement was vice president, venture investments. In total, she spent 25 years with J&J, including stints in R&D and business development.
As part of her role, Nakada has also been a board member of ONL Therapeutics, a portfolio company that makes retinal disease therapy, and is a board observer at Arkuda Therapeutics, which makes treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
JJDC was established in 1973, making it one of the oldest corporate venture capital companies in the world. The company says that as of 2024 it held over 100 active portfolio companies and has invested more than $3.4bn since 2015.
Earlier this month, it invested in Renovo, a Chinese surgical robotics company, in which it was the lead investor in a series D round. Johnson & Johnson’s Chinese business also partnered with the startup.
