AI drug developer Iambic Therapeutics pursues IPO as global pharmaceutical partnerships mount

U.S.-based AI drug developer Iambic Therapeutics is pursuing an initial public offering (IPO).

According to Fierce Biotech on the 21st local time, Iambic disclosed its IPO plans in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The number and price of shares to be offered have not yet been finalized.

The company identified the oral, brain-penetrant HER2 inhibitor IAM1363 as the top priority for use of the proceeds. The drug is currently in a phase 1 trial in patients with advanced HER2-mutant solid tumors, and the company plans to begin a registration trial in early 2027.

In the filing, Iambic said, "IAM1363 is the only HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that binds to the inactive form of the HER2 kinase domain," adding that "this unique binding mode may contribute to selectivity and mutation coverage."

Accordingly, IAM1363 could potentially be used in several HER2-driven solid tumors, including breast cancer, gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer. Early data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) last year showed antitumor activity in patients with HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer and HER2-positive breast and gastric cancers.

Some of the proceeds will also be used to advance two other candidates into clinical development. They are the KIF18A inhibitor IAM217, targeting ovarian cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, and the dual CDK2/CDK4 inhibitor IAM-C1, targeting breast cancer and other cancers.

Iambic was founded in 2019 by CEO Tom Miller and CTO Fred Manby. The company currently has 171 full-time employees and held $207.9 million in cash as of the end of June.

The company has not faced difficulty raising funds. It raised a $53 million series A in 2021 and a $100 million series B in 2023, followed by an investment of a similar size last November.

Global pharmaceutical companies, as well as investors, have shown interest in Iambic's technology. Revolution Medicines, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Lundbeck, NVIDIA and Bayer have formed partnerships with the company, and AbbVie joined them the previous day.

In February, Takeda signed a multiyear agreement granting access to Iambic's drug discovery platform, including its generative model NeuralPLexer. The deal is worth up to $1.7 billion and is considered one of the largest AI drug discovery transactions ever.

In an interview with Fierce Biotech at the time, Miller said, "The Takeda agreement combines technology deployment with drug discovery," adding, "We continue to build momentum in ways that allow us to monetize the platform."