Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio™), a South San Francisco, CA-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing targeted therapies for patients with severe immune-mediated diseases (IMDs), launched with $120m in financing.
The company was incubated by Arch Venture Partners and Monograph Capital, joined by Jeito Capital and unnamed institutional investors and family offices.
Led by Travis Murdoch, M.D., CEO, Human Immunology Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing precision medicines for people suffering from immune-mediated diseases (IMDs). HI-Bio is leading clinical immunology into its next chapter with more targeted therapies that target cellular drivers of disease.
HI-Bio’s clinical-stage assets include felzartamab, an anti-CD38 antibody, and HIB210, an anti-C5aR1 antibody. Felzartamab targets a protein expressed on the surface of mature plasma cells whose dysfunction is thought to drive several IMDs. When applied, felzartamab is believed to deplete plasmablasts and plasma cells, resulting in the removal of cells that produce disease-causing autoantibodies. HI-Bio is testing felzartamab for membranous nephropathy (MN) and IgA nephropathy (IgAN), with the potential to be the best-in-class therapy for autoantibody diseases. HIB210 is currently in ongoing Phase 1 safety testing, with anticipated studies in IMDs currently being planned.
Felzartamab and HIB210 were in-licensed through a transaction with MorphoSys in June 2022. HI-Bio holds exclusive worldwide rights for felzartamab, with the exception of Greater China, and exclusive worldwide rights except Greater China and South Korea for HIB210. Terms included a 15 percent equity stake in HI-Bio, milestone payments and single-to low-double-digit royalties on net sales. Both programs are believed to hold potential for expansion in multiple other indications in the IMD landscape. In addition to these programs, HI-Bio is advancing discovery programs targeting the dysfunction of mast cells implicated in several undisclosed indications.
HI-Bio’s leadership includes:
- Travis Murdoch, M.D., as Chief Executive Officer;
- Matthew Albert, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Translational Officer;
- Christina Carlson, J.D., as General Counsel;
- Carl Enell as Chief Business Officer;
- Ariella Kelman, M.D., as Senior Vice President of Development;
- Jaideep Dudani, Ph.D., as Head of Portfolio Development;
- Joyce Liaw as Vice President, Finance; and
- Lorna Dean as Vice President, Clinical Operations
HI-Bio’s Board of Directors includes:
- Chairman Paul Berns, Managing Director at ARCH Venture Partners;
- Fred Cohen, M.D., D.Phil., Co-Founder and Chairman at Monograph Capital Partners;
- Barbara Krebs-Pohl, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer at MorphoSys;
- Rachel Mears, J.D., Partner at Jeito Capital;
- Mark Murcko, Ph.D., Founding Chief Scientific Officer at Dewpoint Therapeutics and Relay Therapeutics; and
- Carol Suh, Partner at ARCH Venture Partners
The company’s Scientific Advisory Board includes Mark Daly, Ph.D., Founding Chief of the Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital; John Davis, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., former Senior Vice President, Head of Early Clinical Development at Pfizer; Chris Goodnow, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research; Stefan Härtle, Ph.D., Head of Clinical Pharmacology at MorphoSys; Kristin Hogquist, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Center for Immunology at the University of Minnesota; Brian Kotzin, M.D., Senior Vice President, Clinical Development and Head of Immunology at Nektar Therapeutics; John Lowe, M.D., former Senior Director of Pathology at Genentech; Andrew Luster, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology at Massachusetts General Hospital; and Gregg Silverman, M.D., Mamdouha S. Bobst Professor of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine at NYU Langone Health.
FinSMEs
01/11/2022