Kanagawa, Japan, 26th January 2026 – FIMECS, Inc. (“FIMECS”), a private biotechnology company creating a new class of drugs based on targeted protein degradation, today announced that FIMECS received a notice of patent allowance*1 in Japan for its substance patent covering IRAK-M*2 targeted protein degraders (heterocyclic compounds) discovered by FIMECS (Japanese Patent Application No. P2021-535473).
The compounds granted patent allowance comprise multiple novel compounds capable of inducing degradation of the IRAK-M protein, including FIM-001, which is currently under preclinical development by FIMECS. This patent broadly covers FIM-001 as well as related analog compounds, thereby further strengthening the intellectual property position of FIM-001 in Japan. This patent application is part of an international patent filing and subsequent national phase entries, and examinations are currently ongoing in other countries and regions.While patent registration or patent allowance has already been obtained in certain countries or regions*3, this represents the first patent allowance among the major jurisdiction of Japan, the United States and Europe.
IRAK-M is known as a negative regulator of innate immune signaling and has been reported to play a role in tumor-associated immune suppression. The FIMECS’s IRAK-M protein degraders selectively bind to IRAK-M and induce its degradation, thereby activating anti-tumor immune responses. These compounds have demonstrated anti-tumor efficacy in multiple cancer animal models, including models that exhibit resistance to currently prevalent immune checkpoint inhibitors.
The compounds granted patent allowance were generated using FIMECS’s proprietary drug discovery platform, RaPPIDS™. FIMECS will continue to advance its drug discovery research utilizing RaPPIDS™, while strengthening and expanding its intellectual property portfolio, and promoting development of its pipeline programs, including FIM-001, toward future commercialization and partnering opportunities.
*1 Patent Allowance
A patent allowance is an evaluation issued by a patent office indicating that an invention is deemed worthy of being granted patent rights following examination. Upon payment of the prescribed patent fees after allowance, the patent is registered and patent rights take effect in the relevant country.
*2 About IRAK-M
IRAK-M (interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 3) is a pseudokinase selectively expressed in myeloid cells and functions as a negative regulator of TLR/IL-1R signaling, thereby suppressing excessive activation of innate immunity. Studies using IRAK-M knockout mice have reported suppressed tumor growth in multiple tumor models. In addition, IRAK-M expression levels have been reported to correlate with patient prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. Based on these findings, degradation of IRAK-M has attracted attention as a novel cancer immunotherapy strategy through the relief of immune suppression.
*3 Among the national phase entries based on WO2021020586, patent registration or patent allowance has been obtained in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Russia, Australia and Mexico.
About FIMECS, Inc.
FIMECS, Inc. is a drug discovery company focused on developing a new class of therapeutics based on targeted protein degradation (TPD) for disease targets that have historically been considered ‘undruggable’, particularly in the field of immuno-oncology and oncology. By integrating its proprietary E3 ligase binders with its drug discovery platform RaPPIDSTM, FIMECS has established the capability to efficiently discover drug candidates that induce the degradation of disease-relevant target proteins. Leveraging this platform across obth internal research programs and collaborative projects, FIMECS aims to deliver innovative medicines to patients worldwide.
For more information, please visit: https://www.fimecs.com/eng/
About RaPPIDS™
RaPPIDS™ (Rapid Protein Proteolysis Inducer Discovery System) is a proprietary drug discovery platform developed by FIMECS, Inc. for the efficient generation of targeted protein degraders. Based on FIMECS’s proprietary know-how and Diversity-Oriented Synthesis, RaPPIDS™ enables the rapid synthesis and evaluation of diverse degrader molecules, allowing identification of optimal combination of target protein binder, linkers aand E3 ligase binders. In addition, the RaPPIDS™ platform supports the discovery of novel E3 ligase binders, which is expected to significantly expand the range of proteins amenable to targeted degradation.
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FIMECS, Inc. Media and Investor Contact:
FIMECS, Inc.
26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 251-0012, Japan
Tel: +81-466-96-0261
E-mail: info@fimecs.com