SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Imago BioSciences, Inc. (Imago), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative treatments for myeloid diseases, today announced the appointment of Matthew J. Plunkett, Ph.D., as chief financial officer (CFO). Plunkett will lead the company’s business and financial operations.
“Matt has a proven track record of steering both private and public life sciences companies to important milestones,” said Hugh Young Rienhoff, Jr. M.D., chief executive officer, Imago BioSciences. “His deep financial acumen, scientific training and strong capital markets background will serve us well as we build Imago. We are thrilled to have Matt as part of the Imago team as we advance our clinical development in myeloid disease.”
Dr. Plunkett has spent the last two decades as a biopharma investment banker and senior biotechnology executive. Dr. Plunkett joins Imago from Nkarta Therapeutics, Inc., where he was chief financial officer from 2018 to 2020. Previously, he was chief financial and business officer at Medeor Therapeutics from 2017 to 2018. Prior to that, he served as a business development executive at CTI BioPharma from 2012 until 2017, including as chief business officer from 2014 to 2017. From 2000 to 2009, Matt held positions of increasing responsibility in the healthcare investment banking division of CIBC World Markets and its U.S. successor Oppenheimer & Co., culminating in leadership of the west coast biotech investment banking practice. Dr. Plunkett began his professional career as a bench scientist in combinatorial chemistry. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from Harvey Mudd College and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
“I’m excited to join Imago at such a pivotal time,” said Dr. Matthew Plunkett, chief financial officer, Imago BioSciences. “Imago recently closed on an $80 million Series C financing, and with data from over 100 patients treated to date with bomedemstat, we are poised to move into late-stage clinical trials and address the significant unmet need for people with myeloproliferative disorders. Our investigational therapies have the potential to be truly disease modifying. I am honored to join the Imago team and contribute to our mission of bringing these novel therapies to patients.”
About Bomedemstat (IMG-7289)
Bomedemstat is an orally available small molecule discovered and developed by Imago BioSciences that inhibits lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1 or KDM1A), an enzyme shown to be vital in cancer stem/progenitor cells, particularly neoplastic bone marrow cells. In non-clinical studies, bomedemstat demonstrated robust in vivo anti-tumor efficacy across a range of myeloid malignancies as a single agent and in combination with other therapeutic agents. Bomedemstat is an investigational agent currently being evaluated in ongoing clinical trials (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03136185, NCT04262141, NCT04254978 and NCT04081220).
Bomedemstat has U.S. FDA Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designation for the treatment of myelofibrosis and essential thrombocythemia, Orphan Drug Designation for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and PRIME designation by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of MF.
Bomedemstat is being evaluated in three open-label Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of advanced myelofibrosis (MF), polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET), bone marrow cancers that interfere with the production of blood cells. MF patients who are resistant to a Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitor and ET patients who have failed one standard of care treatment are eligible for the bomedemstat MF and ET studies, respectively.
About Imago BioSciences
Imago BioSciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of hematologic disorders. Imago has developed a series of compounds that inhibit LSD1, an epigenetic enzyme critical for cancer stem cell function and blood cell differentiation. The company is advancing the clinical development of its first LSD1 inhibitor, bomedemstat, for the treatment of myeloid neoplasms. Imago is backed by leading private, public and strategic investors including a fund managed by Blackstone Life Sciences, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Omega Funds, Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C., funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and funds and accounts managed by Blackrock Advisors, LLC. The company is based in South San Francisco, California. To learn more, visit www.imagobio.com, www.myelofibrosisclinicalstudy.com, www.etclinicalstudy.com and follow us on Twitter @ImagoBioRx, Facebook and LinkedIn.
