Aprilbio Co. Ltd.

Another inflammation and immunology startup has attracted big bucks. On Thursday, Evommune announced a $115 million raise to back a pipeline anticipated to have multiple Phase 2 readouts in the next 18 months. The Series C gives fresh momentum to the Palo Alto startup’s pipeline after it stopped development of its Phase 2a drug, an IRAK4 inhibitor, in atopic dermatitis last September. The biotech quickly rebounded and has a mid-stage test ongoing — with more planned soon — for its MRGPRX2 inhibitor codenamed EVO756. The once-daily oral drug is being explored for chronic inducible urticaria, chronic spontaneous urticaria, atopic dermatitis and other indications. Evommune has a partnership with Maruho for development and commercialization of the asset in certain Asian regions. (Septerna, which went public last week , is also working on MRGPRX2.) The startup also has an IL-18-targeted fusion protein dubbed EVO301 for atopic dermatitis. It will enter Phase 2 in the first three months of next year, CEO Luis Peña told Endpoints News . The California startup licensed the asset from South Korean company AprilBio this summer for $15 million upfront and about $475 million in potential payments, an Evommune spokesperson confirmed to Endpoints at the time of the June announcement . Meanwhile, Evommune could still return to the shelved IRAK4 inhibitor, known as EVO101. An investigator-initiated trial is now testing the drug for hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic skin condition that has attracted interest in recent years. If those data look good, Evommune might restart development. RA Capital and Sectoral Asset Management co-led the Series C, which comes 18 months after a $50 million Series B . While the new raise gives Evommune multiple years of runway, it could entertain the idea of going public, and its investor syndicate “could easily support an IPO,” Peña said. Around the middle of next year — after releasing its first batch of Phase 2 data for EVO756 in chronic inducible urticaria — could be a good time to explore the public market, Peña said. The biotech might also attract the interest of pharma acquirers, Peña said. Evommune is led by former Dermira executives, who helped take the autoimmune drug developer to a $1.1 billion sale to Eli Lilly in early 2020. “We’re more amenable to that kind of partnership as opposed to actually doing a co-development deal with a company,” Peña said. “We have such deep development expertise that we don’t really need help on that front, but if someone wants to come and bid on our programs or our company at some point, they can.” He declined to comment on whether Evommune has already received takeover proposals. He added that “you should never set up your company that way.” Peña, who was chief development officer of Dermira when Lilly bought it, formed his new startup a week after he left the Indianapolis drugmaker in 2020. The main drug from that buyout, lebrikizumab , was approved by the FDA for eczema last month. Evommune licensed the IRAK4 inhibitor and EVO756, among other programs, from Lilly.

California biotechnology startup Evommune has raised $115 million to advance a pair of medicines its developing for chronic immune conditions.The Series C funding announced Thursday will support a trio of Phase 2 trials that should all produce results by the end of 2026. Evommunes most advanced drug, a small molecule dubbed EVO756, is already being tested in one mid-stage study in a form of chronic skin hives, or urticaria, with another expected to start next year. Another, EVO301, could reach Phase 2 testing in a common type of eczema in 2025 as well.Urticaria describes a group of inflammatory skin conditions that can cause hives to form on the body and lead to severe itching, burning or swelling. They can crop up either spontaneously or be induced by outside triggers, such as cold or warm temperatures, and last for weeks or even years at a time. Millions of people in the U.S. are affected, according to some estimates.Patients typically take antihistamines or the biologic Xolair. But many dont respond and, even when they do, the effects can take weeks to materialize. As a result, several drugmakers, among them Celldex Therapeutics, Novartis and partners Sanofi and Regeneron, are investing in therapies they claim can improve upon standard care.Many of the experimental drugs in testing, among them Celldexs barzovolimab and Sanofi and Regenerons Dupixent, are administered via infusion or subcutaneous injection. Evommunes is given orally and blocks a protein, mas-related G-protein coupled receptor X2, thats expressed on the mast cells thought to drive the condition.Its not the only drug of its kind in development, though. Another startup, Escient Pharmaceuticals, has a similar medicine in clinical testing. Escient was acquired by Incyte in April.Still, Luis Pena, Evommunes CEO, said EVO756 could be a first-in-class treatment for conditions triggered by mast cells. The company disclosed proof-of-concept data in July and intends to provide fuller details at a conference later this year. The Phase 2 study its running in inducible urticaria should produce results in the first quarter of 2025, with data from a study in spontaneous urticaria following in 2026.Evommunes second program, EVO301, is a fusion protein targeting an inflammatory cytokine called IL-18. The company licensed the drug earlier this year from South Korea-based biotech AprilBio and is evaluating it in atopic dermatitis. In Phase 1 testing, it showed a compelling clinical profile with potential for convenient dosing intervals, Pena said.Evommune, a Palo Alto biotech making drugs for inflammatory conditions, announced on Oct. 31, 2024, it raised $115 million. The company is led by Luis Pena, the former chief development officer of Dermira.Permission granted by EvommuneBased in Palo Alto, Evommune raised more than $130 million through two previous funding rounds in 2021 and 2023 from Pivotal bioVenture Partners, EQT Life Sciences and many other investors.The companys latest round was co-led by RA Capital Management and Sectoral Asset Management, both of which invest in public and private companies. These types of crossover fundings typically precede initial public offerings and slumped during the sectors recent downturn.According to Pena, the companys executives have experience running private as well as public companies. With the new funding and multiple data readouts ahead, we will be well funded and continue to keep our options open, including with respect to a potential IPO, he said.If Evommune does make a bid for Wall Street, it would extend on a recent trend. Fourteen of the 23 life sciences companies that priced an IPO this year have had a lead program in Phase 2 studies or later, according to BioPharma Dive data. '

IL-18 modulation has potential for broad applicability in multiple inflammatory diseases Phase 2-ready program complementary to Evommune's immunology pipeline Phase 1 trial demonstrated good safety and tolerability, favorable pharmacokinetics and target engagement PALO ALTO, Calf., June 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Evommune, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company discovering and developing new ways to treat immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, today announced it has entered into a definitive, worldwide license agreement with AprilBio Co., Ltd. (Kosdaq: 397030), a biopharmaceutical company based in South Korea dedicated to developing specialized biologics and antibody drugs, for an IL-18 targeted fusion protein. Under the terms of the agreement, Evommune receives exclusive, worldwide rights to research, develop and commercialize APB-R3, to now be known as EVO301, a long-acting injectable fusion protein that is designed to neutralize the signal pathway of IL-18 for the regulation of inflammation. Evommune plans to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial in early 2025. "We are committed to making a difference for patients suffering from chronic inflammation. Adding this exciting new targeted molecule is another important growth step for Evommune. EVO301 is a product candidate leveraging a novel approach in a mechanism that has demonstrated activity in prior clinical trials. While we continue to execute on our pipeline, including EVO756, our MRGPRX2 antagonist, EVO301 provides the potential to offer a best-in-class therapeutic for patients being underserved by existing treatment options in multiple diseases. We believe the proprietary serum albumin binding motif fused to an IL-18 binding protein may facilitate deep tissue penetration with an extended half-life," said Luis Pena, Evommune President & CEO. "As we evaluate partners of our pipeline products, we are thrilled to license the IL-18 fusion protein to Evommune, a company with significant drug development expertise in the areas of chronic inflammatory diseases. Evommune's ability to broadly develop this product candidate throughout its potentially broad life cycle process was a key driver of our desire to collaborate with them," commented Dr. Sang-hoon Cha, CEO at AprilBio. About EVO301 A long-acting injectable therapeutic, EVO-301 is a fusion-protein that is designed to neutralize the signal pathway of IL-18 for the regulation of inflammation. IL-18, a proinflammatory cytokine of the IL-1 family, plays an important role in the T-cell-helper type 1 inflammatory response, primarily by its ability to induce IFN-gamma production in T-cells and natural killer cells. About AprilBio AprilBio Co., Ltd. is a biopharmaceutical company in South Korea founded in 2013. The company is specialized in development of specialized biologics and antibody drugs. The company's platform technologies include a human phage-display Ab library and Anti-Serum Albumin Fab-Associated (SAFA) technology (versatile building block for half-life extension and generation of novel biological therapeutics). AprilBio is focused on rare diseases, oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. About Evommune, Inc. Evommune, Inc., a Palo Alto based biotech company, is creating game-changing science to treat immune-mediated inflammatory diseases by discovering, developing, and delivering therapies that address symptoms and halt progressive disease. For more information, please visit Evommune.com.