IFM Therapeutics, an biopharmaceutical developer owned by US-based pharmaceutical group Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), has formed an immune system-focused subsidiary, IFM Tre, with a $31m series A round backed by BMS.
Venture capital firm Atlas Venture, investment firm Abingworth and IFM Therapeutics’ management have also supplied capital for IFM Tre.
IFM Tre will develop drugs that target conditions caused by NLRP3, a gene that protects the body from pathogens in otherwise healthy people but which can provoke inappropriate inflammatory responses when activated abnormally.
Such inflammation is an underlying driver for a range of serious conditions including metabolic, fibrotic, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative diseases. IFM Tre’s approach involves leaving other pathways intact, allowing the immune system to continue to function normally.
The company currently has three drug candidates in preclinical development, including a lead candidate that inhibits NLRP3 activity outside of the central nervous system which will enter phase 1 clinical trials in 2019.
A second candidate will be aimed at the gut and will primarily target inflammatory bowel disease, while a third therapy is expected to be able to penetrate the brain-blood barrier to target neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
IFM Tre’s launch follows the acquisition of IFM Therapeutics by BMS for up to $2.3bn, a deal announced in August 2017 and completed the following month.
IFM Therapeutics will establish additional subsidiaries to focus on other programs, though it has not disclosed further details yet.