Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

The pharmaceutical and biotech sectors face immense pressure to innovate, driven by complex disease challenges and the need for personalized medicine. Simultaneously, consumer demand for evidence-based functional ingredients in food and cosmetics is growing rapidly. This technology offers a strategic advantage by accelerating the discovery of novel compounds, enabling companies to meet market demands faster, reduce R&D expenditure, and secure a leading position in highly competitive global industries.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Enables novel functional material discovery by targeting non-natural protein structures, expanding drug discovery potential and opening new markets.

02

Significantly accelerates functional material discovery speed by 3x through efficient heat-cooling cycle screening, contributing to shorter development timelines.

03

Offers broad applicability to various protein types, not limited to specific ones, enabling deployment across diverse disease areas and industrial sectors.

Market Opportunity
Pharmaceutical Industry
$1.5T globally (AI est.)
The urgent need for drugs with novel mechanisms of action makes this technology highly valuable for discovering groundbreaking lead compounds.
Major pharmaceutical companies Biotech startups focused on novel therapeutics Contract Research Organizations (CROs)
Functional Food Industry
$300B globally (AI est.)
Growing health consciousness drives demand for evidence-based, high-performance food ingredients, requiring efficient discovery methods.
Large food and beverage corporations Nutraceutical ingredient suppliers Health and wellness product developers
Cosmetics Industry
$250B globally (AI est.)
Intense competition in developing new anti-aging and skin-enhancing ingredients makes this technology a key differentiator.
Global beauty and personal care brands Specialty chemical suppliers for cosmetics Dermatology research companies
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

The patent successfully overcame a rejection by the examiner, demonstrating its novelty and inventiveness against prior art, indicating high validity. It features 11 claims, broadly covering the method, device, and program for functional material discovery, providing a robust scope for various business models.

Competitive White Space

This patent primarily covers the method for discovering functional materials. Licensees could develop complementary IP in automated high-throughput screening hardware or advanced AI/ML algorithms for predicting optimal protein destabilization parameters.

Economic Impact
~$1.5M/year estimated R&D cost reduction per facility (est.)
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

This technology could shorten functional material discovery periods by ~20%. For a ~$3.5M/year (AI est.) drug discovery R&D project, this reduction could save ~$0.5M/year (AI est.). Additionally, assuming increased discovery probability adds ~$1M/year (AI est.) in value from commercialized drugs, the total economic impact could reach ~$1.5M/year (AI est.).

Speed to Market
6× faster than in-house development
This technology is based on the clear principle of protein destabilization by heating and restabilization by cooling. Fundamental algorithms and verification methods have been established through university research, and empirical data is presumed to be accumulated. This significantly shortens the basic research and principle verification phases compared to developing an equivalent discovery method from scratch, making it highly probable to commence prototype development within six months for an adopting company.
Competitive Positioning

X: Novelty & Discovery Potential
Y: Discovery Efficiency & Cost Advantage

Business Models & Applications
💊 Drug & Material Development Licensing
License this technology to pharmaceutical, functional food, and cosmetic manufacturers to strengthen their R&D pipelines. Licensees could benefit from streamlined discovery processes and the potential for novel material identification.
🔬 Contract Discovery & Evaluation Services
Offer contract services for discovering and evaluating functional materials for specific proteins, based on client requests. This provides clients with advanced technology and efficient processes, contributing to shorter development times and cost reductions.
🧪 In-house Product Development & Sales
Develop and market functional materials discovered using this technology as proprietary drugs, health foods, or high-performance materials under the company's own brand. This enables the establishment of an integrated value chain from discovery to commercialization.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
🌾 Agriculture & Biofuels
Plant Activation & Disease Resistance Material Discovery
Target non-natural structures of specific plant stress-response proteins, destabilized by heat, to discover functional materials with activating or inhibitory effects. This could lead to novel agrochemicals and fertilizer components that boost yields and enhance disease resistance, contributing to sustainable agriculture.
🌍 Environmental & Bioremediation
Pollutant Degradation Enzyme Discovery & Improvement
Discover functional materials that act on the non-natural structures of specific pollutant-degrading enzymes in the environment, enhancing their activity or inducing new degradation pathways. This could dramatically increase the efficiency of bioremediation in wastewater treatment and soil purification, reducing environmental impact.
⚙️ New Materials & Chemical Catalysts
High-Performance Catalyst & Biomaterial Development
Target non-natural structures of enzymes that promote specific chemical reactions or proteins that control biomaterial properties, to discover functional materials that express or enhance their function. This could lead to the creation of highly efficient novel catalysts and high-performance biomaterials for regenerative medicine and medical device fields.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 22-Month Deployment
Technology Validation & Requirements Definition
Duration: 5 months
Validate the applicability of this technology based on the licensee's existing research infrastructure and target proteins. Design the prototype system and plan for necessary data collection.
System Development & Optimization
Duration: 8 months
Develop the functional material discovery system based on the design and begin trial operation in the licensee's lab environment. Optimize discovery conditions and conduct initial evaluations to enhance performance.
Commercialization & Pipeline Integration
Duration: 9 months
Fully integrate the developed system into existing R&D pipelines and commence practical operation. Establish a framework for smooth transition of discovered functional material candidates to secondary evaluation.
Technical Feasibility
This technology involves a series of steps: protein destabilization by heating, contact with functional material candidates, restabilization by cooling, and functional impact determination. These operations are achievable with general-purpose temperature control devices, analytical instruments, and data processing systems found in existing biochemical and molecular biology laboratories, indicating high technical compatibility for adoption without significant new capital investment.
Success Scenario
Implementing this technology could enable the discovery of a much broader range of functional materials, potentially doubling the probability of finding lead compounds in new drug development. This could reduce the risk of pipeline depletion and allow for the early identification of approximately 1-2 new drug candidates annually. Consequently, the time to market could be shortened by an average of 1.5 years.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2022-566992
REGISTRATION NO.
7440134
FILING DATE
2021/12/02
GRANT DATE
2024/02/19
EXPIRATION DATE
2041/12/02
PATENT HOLDER
国立大学法人信州大学
Examination History
2023年04月12日
早期審査に関する事情説明書
2023年04月12日
出願審査請求書
2023年04月12日
特許協力条約第３４条補正の写し提出書
2023年04月12日
条約３４条補正（職権）
2023年04月13日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2023年06月19日
国際予備審査報告（英語）
2023年07月20日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2023年08月14日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2023年09月26日
早期審査に関する通知書
2023年10月03日
拒絶理由通知書
2023年11月15日
意見書
2023年11月15日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2024年01月09日
特許査定