Navigator Medicines has equipped itself with $100 million in series A funds as the young biotech charts a course for its newly acquired autoimmune drugs.
The company, which was founded earlier this year as a subsidiary of Sera Medicines, has bought itself a pipeline of OX40L-targeted mono- and bispecific antibodies from Korea’s IMBiologics. According to reporting shared on IMBiologics’ website, Navigator secured the licenses for the drugs outside of Asia—but including Japan—for $20 million upfront and with $924.7 million in potential milestone payments.
Headlining the group is IMB101, now rebranded as NAV-240, a bispecific antibody against OX40L and TNFα in a phase 1 study in healthy subjects. OX40L and TNFα have already been established as critical in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory diseases, pointed out Navigator, which added that targeting both signaling pathways “may improve upon the efficacy of either monotherapy alone as a potential treatment option for complex, heterogeneous diseases with unmet medical needs.”
IMBiologics previously touted NAV-240 as offering a fresh way to address unmet needs for a range of autoimmune diseases, including patients with rheumatoid arthritis who are non-responsive or resistant to anti-TNF agents.
Navigator will be able to push ahead with these assets courtesy of $100 million from a series A funding round co-led by well-known VC names RA Capital Management and Forbion. As part of the financing, Wouter Joustra, a general partner at Forbion, and Andrew Levin, M.D., Ph.D., a partner and managing director at RA Capital Management, are joining Navigator’s board.
“NAV-240 has the potential to make an impact on patients living with autoimmune diseases, and our series A funding will be pivotal in accelerating its development alongside other exciting programs within our pipeline,” said Navigator’s chief medical officer Dana McClintock, whose appointment was also announced in the same release.
“We look forward to initiating additional clinical studies with NAV-240 in the coming months and delivering on our commitment to innovation that enhances patient care,” McClintock added.
Last year, Sanofi pointed to positive phase 2 results for an anti-OX40-ligand monoclonal antibody called amlitelimab that it acquired as part of its Kymab buyout as proof that targeting OX40-ligand offers a therapeutic option for inflammatory diseases.