News

Kanagawa, Japan, 28, February 2019 – FIMECS, Inc. (“FIMECS”) a private biotechnology company creating a new class of drugs based on targeted protein degradation, today announced research demonstrating drug discovery activity of the company’s first-in-class hetero-bifunctional molecules to specifically degrade IRAK-M protein. Data were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2019 in Atlanta, GA, U.S.A., March 29–April 3, 2019.

Title: ”Targeted IRAK-M degradation as a novel and efficacious cancer-immunotherapy overcoming innate-driven immunosuppression”
Presenters: Kanae Gamo, Naomi Kitamoto, Yoshihide Tomata, Yusuke Tominari
Session category: Immunology
Session title: Molecular Mechanisms in the Immune Response to Cancer
Time and date: 13:00–17:00 (local time), Monday, April 1, 2019
Place: Georgia World Congress Center, Exhibit Hall B, Poster Section 24
Poster board No.: 8
Poster No.: 2354
Presentation abstract: https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/6812/presentation/5189

IRAK-M has an important role in tightly controlling innate immune responsiveness to preserve homeostasis, mediating immune tolerance, and acts as a negative feedback regulator of TLR/IL-1R signaling pathway. Targeting IRAK-M, which expression is restricted to myeloid cells, would be potentially limiting adverse events against non-target tissues. From supporting evidence for the role of IRAK-M in innate immunosuppressive capacity of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) or dendritic cells (DCs), we have developed compounds targeting IRAK-M as an effective cancer-immunotherapy strategy.

FIMECS discovered multiple drug candidates within a year by applying the company’s platform technology “RaPPIDS™. In the poster presentation, the company presents in vitro mode of action analysis and in vivo studies of IRAK-M degraders.
“This is an exciting milestone for immuno-oncology research area with a novel mechanism.” said Yusuke Tominari, PhD, CEO and CSO, FIMECS “IRAK-M degraders are unprecedented strategy for cancer-immunotherapy and provides a potentially transformative approach to the treatment of cancer with high unmet medical needs including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

About FIMECS, Inc.
FIMECS, Inc. is developing a new class of drugs based on targeted protein degradation for the currently ‘undruggable’ targets in immuno-oncology and oncology areas. The company became able to discover drug candidates for inducing the degradation of disease-relevant targeted proteins by integrating proprietary E3 ligase binders and RaPPIDS™ platform. This drug discovery platform will help providing drugs to the patients all over the world through various internal and collaboration projects.

About RaPPIDS™
RaPPIDS™ (Rapid Protein Proteolysis Inducer Discovery System) is one of the proprietary drug discovery platforms of FIMECS, Inc. used to generate therapeutic candidates of the targeted protein degrader. The platform allows synthesizing and evaluating various degraders quickly based on the company’s proprietary know-how and diversity-oriented synthesis, and delivery of the drug candidates with the best combination of target protein binders, linkers, and E3 ligase binders.

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FIMECS, Inc. Media and Investor Contact:
Yusuke Kohno,
CFO and VP of Corporate Development
Tel: +81-50-5328-9458
Email: info@fimecs.com