AI-Driven Iambic Therapeutics Secures Over $100M in Funding, Advances Pipeline

Iambic Therapeutics, a prominent player in AI-driven drug discovery, has successfully raised more than $100 million in an oversubscribed funding round. This significant financial boost comes on the heels of several key developments for the company, positioning it to accelerate its pipeline and forge new partnerships in the pharmaceutical industry.

Funding and Investor Support

The latest funding round attracted a diverse group of both new and existing investors, including Abingworth, Everbright Biofund, Illumina Ventures, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Qatar Investment Authority, Regeneron Ventures, and Sequoia. This follows Iambic's previous fundraising efforts, which included a $100 million Series B round in 2023 and a $53 million Series A round in 2021.

Tom Miller, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Iambic Therapeutics, hailed the new financing as a "testament to the exceptional work of the Iambic team." The company plans to utilize these funds to advance its portfolio of AI-discovered therapeutics, with a particular focus on bringing two of its programs to the clinic.

Pipeline Progress and Clinical Developments

Iambic's lead candidate, IAM1363, a brain-penetrant HER2 small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), has shown promising results in early-phase clinical trials. At the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual meeting in Berlin, the company presented data demonstrating anti-tumor activity in patients with HER2-mutant NSCLC, HER2-positive breast and gastric cancers, as well as other indications lacking approved HER2-directed TKIs or antibodies.

Building on this momentum, Iambic has recently partnered with Jazz Therapeutics to study IAM1363 in combination with Jazz's HER2-targeted bispecific antibody Ziihera (zanidatamab). The combination therapy will be evaluated in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who have previously been treated with Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca's Enhertu.

Strategic Collaborations and Future Prospects

In addition to its clinical progress, Iambic has been actively engaging in strategic partnerships. The company recently entered into a collaboration with Revolution Medicines, potentially worth up to $25 million. This deal grants Revolution access to Iambic's advanced NeuralPLexer model for protein structure prediction.

Looking ahead, Iambic is poised to expand its clinical pipeline. Miller announced plans to advance the company's KIF18A and CDK2/4 programs into clinical trials. Furthermore, the CEO anticipates additional discovery and technology enablement collaborations in the near future, leveraging Iambic's AI-driven approach to drug discovery and development.