cAMPfield Therapeutics has appointed Graham Heap, MD, PhD as President, Research and Development. Heap formerly served as Vice President and Program Leader for Takeda's global TYK2 immunology franchise, where he led the zasocitinib programme through late-stage development. The San Diego-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company also named Ezequiel Neimark, MD as Head of Clinical Development, Taylor Spector, PhD as Head of Medical Affairs, and Scott Stirn, DSc as Head of Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls. The appointments strengthen cAMPfield's leadership as it advances prifemilast, a once-daily oral PDE4 inhibitor, into global Phase 2 trials for moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Prifemilast has been studied in over 700 participants to date. cAMPfield was founded by Mountainfield Venture Partners and holds exclusive global development rights to prifemilast outside Greater China.

Pharma funding roudup: Kardigan announces $400 million initial IPO, cAMPfield launches with $180 million Series A. Kardigan priced its cardiovascular IPO at $400 million and surged 31% on its Nasdaq debut, while cAMPfield Therapeutics launched the same week with a $180 million Series A to advance prifemilast. Two launches this week signal continued momentum in the biotech capital markets, as Kardigan priced its cardiovascular IPO above its original midpoint target and cAMPfield Therapeutics emerged with a $180 million Series A to advance an oral IBD therapy with an extensive clinical history. Kardigan prices upsized IPO at $400 million. Kardigan priced its initial public offering (IPO) of 25 million shares at $16 per share, raising $400 million in gross proceeds, at the top of its proposed $14 to $16 range and meaningfully above the approximately $350 million the company had initially targeted when it filed its S-1 in June.[1] Underwriters also hold a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3.75 million shares at the offering price, with Kardigan's common stock set to began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on June 18 under the ticker symbol "KARD."[1] The offering is expected to close on June 22. The upsized deal reflects investor appetite for Kardigan's precision cardiovascular pipeline, as the company saw shares surge as high as 31% in its trading debut.[3] It's pipeline is built around three late-stage assets in indications where no approved treatments currently exist: danicamtiv, an oral cardiac myosin activator licensed from Bristol Myers Squibb and currently in the Phase IIb/III Kinship-DCM study for genetic dilated cardiomyopathy; ataciguat, an oral soluble guanylate cyclase activator licensed from Sanofi and the Mayo Clinic being evaluated in the Phase IIb Katalyst-AV trial for calcific aortic valve stenosis; and tonlamarsen, a liver-directed antisense oligonucleotide licensed from Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the Phase II Kardinal-ASH trial for acute severe hypertension post-hospitalization.[1] The company is led by Tassos Gianakakos, who previously served as CEO of MyoKardia before Bristol Myers Squibb acquired it for $13.1 billion in 2020, alongside co-founder and CMO Jay Edelberg, who served as MyoKardia's chief medical officer.[1] cAMPfield Therapeutics launches with $180 million Series A. cAMPfield Therapeutics has emerged with a $180 million Series A financing to develop prifemilast, a once-daily oral PDE4B-selective inhibitor, for inflammatory bowel disease.[2] The round was led by Frazier Life Sciences and included Deep Track Capital, Forbion, Abingworth, Venrock, Longitude Capital, Novo Holdings, and RA Capital. Prifemilast has an extensive development history, with more than 700 clinical trial participants dosed to date, including more than 250 with 52 weeks of exposure, across programs in the United States and China.[2] The drug has shown selective inhibition of PDE4B, the subtype most strongly associated with beneficial anti-inflammatory effects, versus PDE4D, the subtype believed to drive dose-limiting side effects such as nausea that have historically limited PDE4 inhibitors in IBD.[2] "Despite the availability of more than a dozen approved therapies for IBD, most patients fail to achieve deep and durable remission, while others discontinue or switch treatments because of limitations in safety or long-term effectiveness," said Bill Gerhart, CEO of cAMPfield Therapeutics. "We aim to establish prifemilast as the treatment of choice for patients and physicians seeking robust disease control with a convenient once-daily, well-tolerated oral therapy." cAMPfield was founded by Mountainfield Venture Partners alongside a leadership team with deep IBD pedigree, including Asit Parikh, formerly head of gastroenterology at Takeda and a development leader of Entyvio; Keith Usiskin, formerly VP and head of gastroenterology at Celgene/BMS.[2] With the Series A proceeds, cAMPfield is initiating a global Phase IIb trial in moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis and a global Phase II trial in Crohn's disease.[2]