WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IM Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing novel, first-in-class therapies targeting human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) to treat autoimmune diseases, announced today that David Alleva, Ph.D., has joined its management team as Vice President, Immunology. Dr. Alleva is an immunologist with deep experience in R&D in autoimmunity and infectious disease spanning 22 years and across early-stage biotech, foundations, and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical organizations.

IM Therapeutics’ IMT-HALT™ platform enables the development of oral small molecule drugs to block HLA gene variants as the earliest triggers of autoimmunity. The Company’s lead drug candidate, IMT-002, is in a Phase 1b study in type 1 diabetes (T1D) in patients genetically preselected for HLA-DQ8. HLA-DQ8 significantly increases the risk for T1D and is present in 60% of T1D patients.

“I am excited to welcome David to our leadership team and impressed by his work in novel approaches in T1D and the autoimmune spectrum,” said Nandan Padukone, Ph.D., CEO of IM Therapeutics. “David broadens our expertise at a pivotal time as we advance our lead program in T1D through Phase 1 clinical trials and progress our additional programs. David’s advocacy for new ways to treat T1D and his immunotherapy drug development experience will be tremendous assets to the company as we expand our autoimmune-targeted pipeline.”

Dr. Alleva has been in senior R&D management positions, most recently at Akston Biosciences where he led immunotherapy development for T1D and a COVID-19 vaccine program. Previously, he led several R&D programs with ADiTx in T1D, managed portfolio programs at JDRF, and helped advance drug development of small-molecules, biologics, and vaccine therapeutics at Emergent BioSolutions, Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, XOMA, and Neurocrine Biosciences.

Dr. Alleva earned a Ph.D. in immunology from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and performed postdoctoral autoimmune disease research at Boston University Medical Center. He has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, has chaired immunology conferences, and is on the Editorial Board for the Biomedicines MDPI journal.

“HLA drug targeting holds great promise and I am very excited by the progress made by IM Therapeutics to tap into this genetically-directed approach for T1D and other autoimmune diseases,” said Dr. Alleva. “I look forward to joining this dynamic team and bringing forward new personalized medicines to treat the underlying biology of autoimmunity.”

About IMT-002

IMT-002, the lead drug candidate of IM Therapeutics, is the first oral genetically targeted drug candidate to be tested in T1D patients, an incurable autoimmune disorder that affects nearly 1.6 million people in the United States. IMT-002 completed a Phase 1a study in 2020 and is currently completing a Phase 1b study in T1D patients preselected for the HLA-DQ8 gene variant. IMT-002 is designed to block HLA-DQ8 to prevent the immune system from attacking insulin-producing beta cells, thereby preserving function in newly diagnosed patients, and is being investigated as a once- or twice-daily drug candidate. Previous studies of a tool drug, L-methyldopa, which is FDA-approved for treating hypertension, in a Phase 1b study, showed effective inhibition of HLA-DQ8 activity in new onset type 1 diabetes patients who had the HLA-DQ8 gene variant. Several in vivo IND-enabling studies indicate that IMT-002, which unlike the tool drug, is not metabolized physiologically, has more potency to block HLA-DQ8 activity and a favorable safety profile.

About IM Therapeutics

IM Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company pioneering personalized, oral medicines that target human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene variants to treat the root cause of autoimmune diseases. The Company’s IMT-HALT platform enables the development of small molecule drugs using in silico docking of millions of compounds into pockets of an HLA variant where self-antigens may bind to trigger autoimmunity. Selected drug hits are then optimized using proprietary structure-based design and activity screening with cell-based assays for specificity of HLA inhibition. Lead drugs developed against an HLA variant have the ability to block a series of self-antigens and therefore the potential to treat a range of autoimmune diseases related to a selected HLA. The Company is building a broad HLA-targeted pipeline in autoimmune disorders including type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, and lupus. Learn more at www.IMTherapeutics.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210406005260/en/