CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Imara Inc. today announced it presented an update on its sickle cell disease program at the Annual Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Conference (ASCAT) held this week, October 22-24 at the Westminster Bridge, County Hall in London. Dr. Biree Andemariam, founding director of the New England Sickle Cell Institute (NESCI) at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and a principal investigator of Imara’s Phase 2 clinical trial of IMR-687, provided a summary of the ongoing clinical trial in a presentation titled, “IMR-687: A Potent PDE9i in Phase 2 for Sickle Cell Disease.”
About Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease is a rare, genetically inherited condition that alters hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body. The altered hemoglobin distorts red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent, shape. Painful episodes can occur when sickled red blood cells, which are stiff and inflexible, get stuck in small blood vessels. These episodes deprive tissues and organs of oxygen-rich blood and can lead to vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), acute chest syndrome (ACS), and permanent damage to organs including the liver, spleen, kidney and brain.
About Imara
Imara Inc., is dedicated to developing novel therapeutics for patients with sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies. Imara is currently developing IMR-687, a highly selective, potent small molecule inhibitor of PDE9, to treat patients with sickle cell disease. IMR-687 was specifically designed to treat patients with sickle cell disease by both reducing red blood cell sickling and blockage of blood vessels that are underlying causes of the pathology of sickle cell disease. The company was launched out of orphan drug accelerator Cydan Development with financing from life science investors NEA, Pfizer Venture Investments, Lundbeckfond Ventures, Bay City Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments.
