After a year that saw Ikena Oncology trim back its workforce and pipeline, the oncology biotech thinks it has found a sustainable path forward via a merger into privately owned immunology company Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals.
The combined company, which will operate under the InmageneBio name and list on the Nasdaq under the ticker “IMA,” will be focused on IMG-007, Inmagene’s OX40-targeting monoclonal antibody that recently completed a phase 2a trial in atopic dermatitis and is lined up to begin a phase 2b in early 2025.
Ikena’s stockholders will own 34.8% of the combined company, with Inmagene’s equity holders accounting for 43.5% and investors in a related private placement owning the remaining 21.7% of the business.
That placement involves a syndicate of financiers like Deep Track Capital, Foresite Capital, RTW Investments, BVF Partners, Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, Omega Funds and OrbiMed investing $75 million in Ikena.
The merger marks the end of a tough year for Ikena, which kicked off 2024 letting go of over a third of its workforce in the wake of Bristol Myers Squibb walking away from a collaboration. The situation hadn’t improved by May, when Ikena culled one of its two assets, a TEAD1-selective Hippo pathway inhibitor, and laid off more than half of its remaining employees.
That restructuring left the biotech focused solely on IK-595, a molecular glue for RAS and RAF mutant cancers that was in a phase 1 trial. This morning’s release made no mention of IK-595 or any other oncology plans.
“In our search for the right partner for Ikena, Inmagene’s IMG-007 differentiated clinical data in atopic dermatitis and potential as a pipeline in a product across the I&I space was a compelling fit,” Ikena CEO Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., said in the release. “We believe IMG-007 has the potential to be extremely impactful for patients with inflammatory diseases, while also building value for our shareholders.”
Inmagene isn’t the only company that sees potential in targeting OX40 as a way to restore immune homeostasis between pro-inflammatory and regulatory T cells. In September, Amgen scored a phase 3 win for its $400 million anti-OX40 antibody rocatinlimab in atopic dermatitis. Meanwhile, Sanofi is working on amlitelimab, a monoclonal antibody [mAb] that targets OX40-ligand
In this morning’s release, Inmagene and Ikena claimed that IMG-007 has a “longer half-life compared to other OX40-targeting mAbs in phase 2 and later development, enabling its potential for dose and schedule optimization.”
“In addition, IMG-007 has silenced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity function, and is non-T cell depleting, leading to a potentially improved tolerability profile relative to other mAbs in the class,” they added.
Including the private placement, the new company is set to have around $175 million at hand to take IMG-007 forward.