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Cydan Development launches second orphan drug company

Cydan Development has launched its second orphan drug firm, Imara, and raised $31m in a Series A round from a group of investors including Pfizer Venture Investments and New Enterprise Associates.

Lundbeckfond Ventures, Bay City Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments have also participatd in the round.

Imara will develop IMR-687, a disease-modifying therapeutic selected specifically to treat sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies.

Danish pharmaceutical firm H. Lundbeck discovered IMR-687 and granted Imara an exclusive worldwide license.

H. Lundbeck will receive several milestone payments and royalties on sales as well as minority ownership in Imara.

Imara will manage all future development and commercialization costs for IMR-687. The companies did not disclose the additional financial terms of the transaction.

Imara CEO and Cydan Development co-founder and chief scientific officer James McArthur said: "Following a dynamic scientific collaboration with Lundbeck’s R&D team, we are advancing IMR-687 – a drug identified and developed to reduce the pathology caused by sickle cell disease.

"Our team over the last year has produced pre-clinical data that demonstrates that IMR-687 is a very promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of sickle disease."

IMR-687 has been seen to decrease the sickling of red blood cells and blood vessel occlusion. It also demonstrates a better pre-clinical safety profile.

Cydan’s first new company, Vtesse, was launched in January last year. It is developing drugs for NiemannPick Disease Type C and other rare, serious diseases.