- IM Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company developing personalized therapies for autoimmune diseases, announced it raised $10 million in Series A funding
IM Therapeutics — a clinical-stage company that is developing personalized therapies for autoimmune diseases — announced that it raised $10 million in Series A funding to advance its HLA-targeted discovery platform and develop its lead drug candidate in type 1 diabetes (T1D). This round of funding was co-led by the JDRF T1D Fund and Morningside Ventures with participation from the Colorado University Healthcare Innovation Fund.
Based on research showing that blocking the action of certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene variants known to be high-risk factors blocks the corresponding autoimmune response, IM Therapeutics was launched by physician-scientists at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, University of Colorado. And by designing a personalized therapy approach in autoimmunity, IM Therapeutics demonstrated this in a Phase 1b human study in patients recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes who were positive for the HLA DQ8 variant. This study was funded in part by JDRF.
Now IM Therapeutics is advancing its lead oral drug IMT-002 through IND development for type 1 diabetes and expanding its core therapeutic platform of HLA blockade to other targets of autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease.
“Our value has been clear since day one – getting to the root cause of autoimmunity with a targeted therapy approach and making an impact on diseases such as type 1 diabetes,” said Nandan Padukone, Ph.D., the CEO of IM Therapeutics. “We believe the expertise brought by the JDRF T1D Fund and Morningside Ventures will help us build a broad portfolio in autoimmune disease.”
Dr. Padukone had worked with the T1D Fund team as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and with IM Therapeutics founders Drs. Peter Gottlieb and Aaron Michels to launch the IM Therapeutics’ platform and advance its clinical pipeline.
“We are excited to be a lead investor in IM Therapeutics and are encouraged by the early results of their lead drug in T1D,” added Katie Ellias, Managing Director at the JDRF T1D Fund. “We believe the company’s platform could be a game-changer not only for T1D but also for other autoimmune diseases.”
IM Therapeutics’ innovative therapeutic approach is currently directed at HLA-DQ8 and DQ2 variants known to predispose individuals to both T1D and Celiac disease. And HLA-DQ8 is present in about 60% of T1D patients and in 10% of Celiac disease while nearly 100% of Celiac patients have DQ2 and/or DQ8 with DQ2 present in about 90% of Celiac disease.
And IM Therapeutics has been the first to demonstrate in a clinical study that treating patients based on HLA DQ8 can inhibit the autoimmune response in T1D. With a technology platform in place that combines computational chemistry, bioassays, and rational drug design, IM Therapeutics is developing a pipeline against HLA targets in various autoimmune diseases.
In conjunction with the funding announcement, IM Therapeutics also revealed that JDRF T1D Fund executive chairman Sean Doherty and Morningside Technology Advisory LLC Investment Advisor and IP Counsel Jason Dinges have joined the the IM Therapeutics Board of Directors.
