IFM Therapeutics is launching its third subsidiary this year with a focus on developing next-generation small molecule immunotherapies for inflammatory diseases and cancers.
IFM Therapeutics is launching its third subsidiary this year with a focus on developing next-generation small molecule immunotherapies for inflammatory diseases and cancers. In addition to the new subsidiary, IFM also launched a new incubator, IFM Discovery, to support the work.
Boston-based IFM, which struck two lucrative deals earlier this year with Novartis, closed a $55.5 million financing tranche to support the launch of the new company, IFM Quattro and the incubator. This morning, the company said IFM Discovery will work on a range of targets within the innate immune system, the area that IFM and its subsidiaries have been specializing. The first target-specific program to advance to early preclinical development will then be moved to IFM Quattro for development. IFM Therapeutics said the Discovery incubator will continue to focus on additional targets to support the launch of future IFM program-specific subsidiary companies.
The $55 million funding will be used in part to support the new company and incubator. Financing was led by a new investor, Omega Funds. IMF continues to be financially supported by Atlas Venture and Abingworth.
For IFM, the launch of the new subsidiary and incubator comes on the heels of two separate deals struck with Novartis. In April, the Swiss pharma giant acquired IFM Tre, a company developing anti-inflammatory drugs that target the NLRP3 inflammasome, in a deal that could reach up to $1.6 billion. The nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat-containing receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) pathway is key to the innate immune system. The pathway helps the body recognize bacteria, viruses and other signals of tissue damage or metabolic disorders. Following that acquisition, in September, Novartis and IFM Therapeutics inked another deal, this time, a collaboration with IFM Due, which was launched in February. IFM Due (pronounced du-way) is developing a suite of cGAS inhibitors and STING antagonists that can target diseases like NASH, lupus and Parkinson’s. Novartis and IFM Due forged an $840 million agreement to develop immunotherapies that inhibit the cGAS/STING pathway.
With the launch of the new subsidiary, IFM Therapeutics will also see a change in leadership. Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Gary D. Glick will transition into the role of executive chairman of the board of directors. Martin Seidel, who has overseen the company’s R&D efforts, will assume the role of CEO effective immediately.
Glick said the new financing round and the launch of IFM Quattro and IFM Discovery reflects the company’s “steadfast belief” in the innate immune system as a “prolific therapeutic target.” He added that the innate immune system offers attractive drug discovery opportunities across different therapeutic areas. That is a sentiment shared by new CEO Seidel.
“It has become increasingly clear that overactivity of the innate immune system underlies a host of serious inflammatory and autoimmune conditions and that, conversely, precise activation of innate immunity can jumpstart immune responses to cancer. As an industry, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of attractive targets in the innate immune system, an area that IFM is particularly well-positioned to exploit. Going forward, we will continue to prosecute these targets with rigor to develop novel compounds and launch dedicated, independently-financed subsidiaries for each program as we identify opportunities of interest,” Seidel said in a statement.
Seidel joined IFM full-time in 2017 after having served as a board observer since 2016. Prior to joining IFM, Seidel served as the Global Head of Strategic Alliances for the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR). Seidel first became involved with IFM as a Board Observer following Novartis’ investment in IFM’s Series A financing.
In addition to the leadership change, Paulina Hill of Omega Funds will join Jean-François Formela of Atlas Venture and Shelley Chu of Abingworth on the IFM Discovery and IFM Quattro Boards of Directors.
