Imara Broadens Hematology Horizons With $63m Fundraising
Executive Summary
Imara has raised $63m to pursue its PDE9 inhibitor for sickle cell disease, and hopes to broaden the Phase II drug candidate into related blood disorders such as beta thalassemia.
Cambridge, MA-based Imara Inc., a company developing novel therapeutics for sickle cell disease, has raised $63m in a series B fundraising which could propel the company into broadening its pipeline into other blood disorders.
The round was co-led by Orbimed and Arix Bioscience plc, the latter of which has committed to invest $15m for a 10% stake in the business.
Imara is developing IMR-687, a selective phosphodiesterase 9 (PDE9) inhibitor developed to treat the underlying causes of the pathology of sickle cell disease, which could be disease-modifying in a range of other hemoglobinopathies.
There has been a lot of innovation lately in the sickle cell disease space, with companies such as Modus developing a drug that could be self-administered by sickle cell patients at home, and Casebia Therapeutics, together with development partner Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., taking Crispr/Cas9 gene-edited stem cell therapy CTX001 into the clinic in beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease. (Also see "Modus CEO On Its Plans For An At-Home Injectable For Sickle Cell Crises " - Scrip, 22 Feb, 2019.) (Also see "CRISPR Therapeutics, Vertex Initiate First Industry-Sponsored Trial – What’s Next?" - Scrip, 6 Sep, 2018.)
However, Imara CEO Rahul Ballal believes the company’s drug candidate is “unique”. He told Scrip: “IMR-687 addresses both the underlying red and white blood cell aspects of the disease and by targeting both, one may have the potential to reduce SCD disease burden in a number of different areas. Importantly, the drug is being designed as a once-a-day oral pill that does not require titration and/or monitoring, like the standard of care agent, hydroxyurea. The drug also has extremely high temperature and humidity stability, making it amenable for developing world use.”
Preclinical data has shown that IMR-687 reduces both the sickling of red blood cells and blood vessel occlusion that cause debilitating pain, organ damage and early mortality in affected patients. A Phase I clinical trial in healthy volunteers showed IMR-687 to be safe and well-tolerated. The asset has been granted both US Orphan Drug Designation and US Rare Pediatric Designation by the FDA.
Ballal, formerly entrepreneur-in-residence at Versant Ventures, said that the fundraising was “transformative” for the company, because it allowed Imara to continue to advance IMR-687 in the current Phase IIa clinical trial in adult SCD patients in addition to starting other studies in pediatric sickle cell patients and in other indications like thalassemia.
Imara was started three years ago with a $31m Series A investment round led by Cydan Development (see sidebar).
PDE9 inhibitors have not been that successful in development. Both Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH and Pfizer Inc. have suspended trials with this target for Alzheimer’s disease, while Astellas Pharma Inc. suspended trials using this target for benign prostatic hyperplasia. (Also see "Boehringer Shoots For Schizophrenia With PDE9 Inhibitor, Ends Alzheimer's R&D" - Scrip, 9 Feb, 2018.)
There are still several companies pursuing PDE9, such as Boehringer with its asset BI409306 in Phase II trials for schizophrenia, and Eisai Co. Ltd. in Phase II trials with E2027 in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Cardurion Pharmaceuticals LLC, with partner Astellas, is pursuing this target for acute decompensated heart failure.
Imara is not the only company pursuing this target for sickle cell anemia, either: Pfizer's PF04447943 is in Phase I trials, after its development in Alzheimer's was ended because of lack of efficacy.
Imara hopes to have interim data from the Phase IIa study of IMR-687 in the second half of 2019.
Arix investment director Mark Chin will join Imara’s board of directors and investment associate John Cassidy will join as an observer.
Chin told Scrip that the investment in Imara was in line with Arix’s strategy of focusing on advancing niche and differentiated scientific approaches. “Imara adds a new therapeutic area and expands the breadth of our portfolio into non-oncology hematology and in a later-stage clinical asset in Phase II.”
He explained that Arix was drawn to invest in Imara because it is the only biotech developing a drug with this profile, saying that he believed “IMR-687 has the opportunity to become first-line standard of care for all populations of SCD patients.”
In addition to Arix and Orbimed, the financing also included RA Capital and Rock Springs Capital. Existing investors NEA, Pfizer Ventures, Bay City Capital, Lundbeckfonden Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments also participated in the financing.