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news.Antegrin Therapeutics and Cascadia Therapeutics have established Indalo Therapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel therapies to treat fibrotic diseases.
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The entity results from the merger of Antegrin and Cascadia and the consolidation of their respective management teams. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The new organization unites Antegrin’s robust portfolio of small-molecule integrin antagonists with the strong drug-development expertise, seasoned executive experience, and proven track record of success of Cascadia co-founders Williamson Bradford, M.D., Ph.D., and Scott Seiwert, Ph.D.
Prior to founding Cascadia, Drs. Bradford and Seiwert served as executives at InterMune, Inc., where they played critical roles in developing pirfenidone (Esbriet®) for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and helped to orchestrate the sale of that company to Roche in 2014.
Dr. Bradford, who was the architect of the pirfenidone clinical program and regulatory approvals and bring nineteen years of experience ranging from preclinical to postmarketing programs, will serve as Indalo’s Chief Medical Officer and be responsible for clinical development and regulatory affairs.
Dr. Seiwert, an industry veteran with sixteen years of drug discovery, preclinical development, translational medicine, and regulatory experience, joins Indalo as its Chief Scientific Officer and assumes responsibility for the company’s research and preclinical development activities. Antegrin CEO George Capps, an accomplished business development professional and pharmaceutical executive, retains his post in the new organization.
Rajesh Devraj, Ph.D., Chairman of Indalo’s Board of Directors, said: “The creation of Indalo from the merger of Antegrin and Cascadia results in a leading biotechnology company poised to tackle some of the most complex challenges in fibrosis.
“Indalo is built on cutting-edge scientific innovation, diverse intellectual property estates, and a stellar executive team with deep knowledge of anti-fibrotic drug development.”
Mr. Capps said: “The combined assets held by Indalo not only serve to advance the ongoing efforts begun at Antegrin but also open new windows of opportunity.
“Indalo is in the attractive position of possessing at its formation a broad portfolio of orally bioavailable anti-fibrotic small molecules that are in advanced lead optimization.”
Proprietary compounds in Indalo’s portfolio have demonstrated efficacy in numerous animal models of fibrosis across multiple organ systems. The company expects to initiate IND-enabling activities in 2017 and to commence its first human study in early 2019.
“Dr. Bradford and I believe that Indalo’s scientific approach is compelling and that its drug candidates represent some of the most promising preclinical anti-fibrotic agents in development today,” said Dr. Seiwert.
“Fibrotic diseases represent an enormous unmet medical need, with patients desperate for new therapies,” added Dr. Bradford. “Dr. Seiwert and I are eager to apply our complementary expertise in the fibrotic disease space to expeditiously advance Indalo’s lead programs into the clinic.”