Spun out of orphan drug accelerator Cydan Development, Imara will seek to develop a sickle cell disease treatment licensed from investor Lundbeck.
US-based drug developer Imara was spun out of orphan drug accelerator Cydan Development on Thursday with $31m in series A funding from investors including pharmaceutical firms Lundbeck and Pfizer.
The corporates, which participated through their respective investment vehicles Lundbeckfond Ventures and Pfizer Venture Investments, were joined by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Bay City Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments.
Imara has licensed a treatment for sickle cell disease from Lundbeck, which will be entitled to milestone payments and royalties on sales, while Imara will take on development and commercialisation costs.
Sickle cell disease affects haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen, turning it into a rigid, sickle-like shape (rather than the normal disc-like shape). These haemoglobins can block small blood vessels and cause a range of problems such as strokes, kidney failure and chronic pain.
Imara plans to file an Investigational New Drug Application for the treatment with US regulator Food and Drug Administration this year, though it has not revealed further details.
Cydan, launched in 2013, is backed by Lundbeckfond Ventures, Pfizer Venture Investments, NEA, Alexandria and Bay City. The same investors also provided $25m to spin out metabolic disorder treatment developer Vtesse from Cydan in January 2015.
