Novo Nordisk is opening a new front in its fight against sickle cell disease, inking a deal with IMMvention Therapeutix to co-develop oral treatments for the red blood cell disorder and other chronic conditions.
The Danish drugmaker established itself as a player in sickle cell in 2022 when it paid $1.1 billion to buy Forma Therapeutics. Since then, Forma’s oral selective pyruvate kinase-R activator etavopivat has moved deeper into the clinic, with phase 3 data in one trial scheduled for 2026 and another late-stage study just getting underway. At the same time, Pfizer’s withdrawal of Oxbryta has created opportunities.
Novo has identified IMMvention as a partner that can strengthen its presence in the field. IMMvention is moving BACH1 inhibitors through preclinical development. The oral small molecules could induce fetal hemoglobin expression.
Other companies have hit on the idea of treating sickle cell by inhibiting BACH1. Mitobridge, which Astellas acquired for $225 million upfront in 2017, discovered the BACH1 inhibitor ML-0207, also known as ASP8731. Astellas started a phase 1 trial of the candidate in 2022 but terminated the study well short of its enrollment target after “protocol defined stopping criteria” were met.
vTv Therapeutics has also worked on BACH1 inhibitors. The biotech licensed a candidate to Anteris Bio for use in renal diseases in 2020 but retained the rights in other indications. Last year, a vTv scientist co-authored a paper about using a BACH1 inhibitor to induce fetal hemoglobin expression.
IMMvention claims the druglike properties of its candidate set the molecule apart from other BACH1 inhibitors. The press release about the Novo deal lacks a timeline for when the partners could generate clinical data to back up the claims, but IMMvention’s website lists its targets. The biotech’s road map includes IND-enabling studies and phase 1 trials in 2026 and 2027.
Novo will now take responsibility for the studies. The drugmaker will take over all further development upon or prior to nomination of a development candidate. Novo has a global license to IMMvention’s systemic BACH1 inhibitors. The biotech has retained the rights to brain-penetrant BACH1 inhibitors that could have applications in conditions including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.