Leadership

Yusuke Tominari is responsible for the overall success of a business entity or other organization and for making top-level managerial decisions as a CEO. He launched FIMECS with his colleagues in 2018 as a curve-out biotech from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. He started his career of a medicinal chemist at Takeda in 2006 after getting a Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo in Japan. His expertise is medicinal chemistry in immunology, oncology and immuno-oncology areas, Natural product synthesis and Chemical biology (Bifunctional molecules, Photo-affinity labeling probes, Cleavable linkers and others). Through his thirteen years of the pharmaceutical experience, he has contributed 2 out-licensing and 1 IND filing as a leader of medicinal chemistry. He is currently having a big challenge, “Drugging Undruggable Targets” by the targeted protein degradation technology with a proprietary RaPPIDS platform.

Kanae Gamo is leading overall operations of R&D activities as a CSO. She co-founded FIMECS with her colleagues in 2018 as a curve-out biotech from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. She started her career at Takeda in 2009. She has expertise in many techniques of molecular biology, genetics, epigenetics and next-generation sequencing in oncology and immunology areas. Through her nine years of pharmaceutical experience at Takeda, she increased responsibility of roles across target identification and validation. In parallel with FIMECS work, she got Ph.D. at University of Tsukuba in 2020. Utilizing proprietary drug discovery platform, RaPPIDS, to internal and collaborative programs, FIMECS seeks to provide life-saving medicine to patients all over the world.

Mikio Kawahara has joined UTokyo IPC, the investment arm of the University of Tokyo, since 2016 and has led investment and business development. He has joined FIMECS since 2020 as an outside director.
He has 25+ years’ experience in bio/medical (therapeutics/ medical devices / diagnostics) and deep technology (ICT/ AI/ hardware/ semiconductor) industries with broad knowledge of science and technology.
He received M.E. in Engineering from The University of Tokyo, and MBA/MEM from Northwestern University.

Yusuke Miyazaki is a member of FIMECS’s board of directors since 2020. He is Principal at ANRI, a seed/early stage VC in Japan, and responsible for investment in biotechnology companies. Prior to joining ANRI/FIMECS, he was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, and involved in mainly new business development in Healthcare area. Prior to BCG, he was a Research scientist at Nikon and Stanford. He received his B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from The University of Tokyo, and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.

He is an attorney registered in 2008 after graduating from Keio University Graduate School of Law in 2007. After UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, Purdue University Graduate School, Preferred Networks, Inc. and Mercari Inc., he established LAB-01 Law Office in 2019. Serving as the representative attorney at the firm, he also serves as the CEO at Cohh Inc., a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo Institute for Future Initiatives, a board member of various startups, and a policy advisor to the government and local public bodies.

Yoshiyuki Jojima graduated from Senshu University Faculty of Law in 1984 and served at JALUX Inc., as a general manager of corporate planning, internal audit department, director and Auditor & Supervisory Board Member of affiliated companies. Appointed as an Audit & Supervisory Board Member of Janpala Co., Ltd. in April 2020 and an Audit & Supervisory Board Member of FIMECS, Inc. in March 2022.

Mr. Kenji Maekawa obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering in 2001 and thereafter a Master’s degree in Engineering in 2004, both from Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT). He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and tax accountant. He worked for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC, mainly engaged in auditing and advisory services for listed companies. After leaving the company, he established Kenji Maekawa CPA office and Mirai Kaikei Tax Accountant Office, mainly providing advisory services as well as technical support to business startups, fundraising, etc. for life science and pharmaceutical companies. He joined FIMECS as an outside audit & supervisory board member in 2018.

Yoichi Yamagishi joined Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. after graduating from Waseda University with a Bachelor of Education degree in 1989.
He was primarily engaged in M&A advisory and IPO consulting business at Nomura Securities.
He then joined Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. in 2015 as Head of IPO Dept, where he led Mizuho’s IPO business.
Since 2019, he has been serving as an outside director and advisor to several companies, contributing to the management of those companies.
He was appointed an outside audit & supervisory board member of FIMECS in March 2022. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Masato received his Ph.D. in 2001 from Chiba University near Tokyo in Japan. He then moved as a postdoctoral fellow to Karim Labib’s group in what is now the CRUK Manchester Research Institute.  Masato used degron technology to study all the essential genes of previously unknown function in budding yeast, leading to the identification of important new DNA replication factors that are conserved in all eukaryotes and archaea (Kanemaki et al, Nature, 2003).  In 2006, Masato moved to Osaka University as an Assistant Professor, where he developed the auxin-inducible degron for use in animal cells and fungi, in collaboration with the groups of Tatsuo Kakimoto and Haruhiko Takisawa.  In 2010, Masato moved to the National Institute of Genetics in Mishima, first as an Associate Professor and then from 2016 as a full professor.  Masato’s group has applied the auxin degron to many areas of cell biology, focussing on chromosome replication and genome integrity in his own group, and collaborating with many other labs around the world.  In 2022, Masato became a Professor at the University of Tokyo, whilst still keeping his lab at the National Institute of Genetics in Mishima.

Dr. Tsumoto is an expert in a protein engineering and studies interactions between biomolecules. He is very familiar with protein-protein interaction, proteomics, biophysics assays such as isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), differential scanning fluorescence (DSF), and microscale thermophoresis (MST), spectroscopic analysis including circular dichroism (CD), as well as mass spectrometry and crystal structure analysis. After receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo in 1995, he started his academic career at Tohoku University. In 2005, he appointed associate professor at The University of Tokyo, then he is playing multiple roles of a professor in Medical Proteomics Laboratory, the Institute of Medical Science (2010~), Institute of Industrial Science (2012~), and Faculty of Engineering (2013~). He awarded FujiSankei Business i Special Prize, Grand Prize for Frontier Technology: Pave a New Way for Creativity in 2020, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Prize (2012), and others.

Dr. Fukuyama is an expert in organic chemistry in particular total synthesis of natural products. He succeeded the synthesis of more than 25 natural products, including tetrodotoxin, mitomycin C, Leinamycin, Vinblastine and Ecteinascidins which are complex structural alkaroides. After receiving his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1997, he started his research career at Harvard University. During 1978-1995, he eagerly studied the chemistry as assistant professor, associate professor and professor at Rice University (TX, US). He came back to Japan in 1995 and took a post of professor at The University of Tokyo. After working 18 years there, he moved to Nagoya University in 2013 as a designated professor. He retired in 2018 and he appointed professor emeritus at The University of Tokyo. Now, he is giving professional advises to pharmaceutical companies as an independent consultant (TFOS Consulting). He awarded Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2009, The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award in 2006, ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry in 2004, and others.