FIMECS Announces Strategic Research Collaboration with Astellas
to Discover Protein Degraders Against Multiple Targets
Kanagawa, Japan, 1st, February 2022 - FIMECS, Inc. (CEO: Yusuke Tominari, Ph.D., “FIMECS”)
a private biotechnology company creating a new class of drugs based on targeted protein degradation,
today announced that FIMECS has entered into a research collaboration with Astellas Pharma Inc.
(TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., “Astellas”) on small molecule protein
degraders against multiple targets for a multi-year period. The collaboration will leverage FIMECS’expertise in targeted protein degradation and its proprietary RaPPIDS™ platform and Astellas’scientific, regulatory, and clinical capabilities to accelerate the development of life-saving medicines
to patients around the world.
Under the terms of the agreement, FIMECS will conduct research activities on multiple targets andAstellas will advance candidates for development and potential commercialization. Upon designationof a clinical development candidate, Astellas has the option to exclusively license degrader molecules
against the designated target. FIMECS will receive an upfront payment and funding to support
Astellas-related research. Additionally, FIMECS could earn from potential payments based upon the
successful achievement of specified research, development, regulatory, and commercial milestones for
all the targets initially selected by Astellas. In addition, FIMECS will receive single digit tiered
royalties on future net sales on any products that may result from this collaboration. Astellas may, atits discretion, elect to expand the collaboration to include additional disease targets. This decision
would trigger an additional one-time payment, as well as potential payment of milestones and royalties
on a product-by-product basis.
“We are thrilled to partner with Japanese top-tier global pharmaceutical company, Astellas tocombine their deep understanding of biology and strong clinical development capabilities withFIMECS’ proprietary protein degrader platform,” said Yusuke Tominari, Ph.D., CEO, FIMECS. “Wehave already identified unique E3 ligase binders and established highly effective synthetic method asa degrader discovery platform, RaPPIDS™. We are very pleased that our platform has been wellreceived by the organization. This strategic partnership will broaden the application of targeted protein
degradation to address diseases with high unmet medical needs. We hope to continue this collaboration
with Astellas with the goal of potentially delivering life-saving medicines to patients all over the world.”
About FIMECS, Inc.
FIMECS, Inc. is developing a new class of drugs based on targeted protein degradation for thecurrently ‘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. https://www.fimecs.com/eng/
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 thecompany’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. Moreover,RaPPIDSTM platform enables the discovery of novel E3 ligase binders, which is expected todramatically expand the range of target proteins that can be degraded.
###FIMECS, Inc. Media Contact:
26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 251-0012, Japan
TEL: +81-466-96-0261
E-mail: info@fimecs.com