End of hemoglobinopathy program leaves Imara with little value

Initially backed by a strong VC syndicate, Imara was able to inspire investor confidence that resulted in two public offerings totaling $136.5 million since 2020. But now, the biotech is facing an uncertain future in the wake of a Phase IIb failure in two hemoglobinopathies, with decisions about what to do with its two assets.

On Tuesday, Imara Inc. (NASDAQ:IMRA) said it would discontinue development of tovinontrine (IMR-687) to treat sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia based on interim analyses of the Ardent and Forte trials. The PDE-9 inhibitor did not significantly improve vaso-occlusive crises rates among SCD patients in Ardent, despite some trends favoring the drug over placebo, and showed no meaningful benefit in transfusion dependency among β-thalassemia patients in Forte...