The Research Institute of Medicine

The Research Institute of Medicine and Chemistry (RIMAC) was a private biochemistry and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in the late 1960s by Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Barton. The company specialized in the synthesis of complex organic molecules, with a significant focus on Vitamin D analogs and metabolites. RIMAC is historically notable for its pioneering work in the synthesis of 1-alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol (1-alpha-HCC), a potent Vitamin D3 analog. The company was involved in a high-profile legal dispute in the 1980s with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) over patent rights to Vitamin D synthesis methods. Following the settlement of this dispute in 1987, the company's operations largely ceased, and it is no longer active in the biotechnology sector.