New York-based Boulevard Bio has emerged from stealth with USD 65 million in launch financing from Deerfield Management and affiliates, backed by early Phase I clinical data for its lead asset in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) that the company said support a quarterly dosing interval. That profile would distinguish it in an increasingly active space targeting B cell-driven autoimmune disease.
The entire USD 65 million, structured as a combination of equity capital and convertible notes, comes from Deerfield Management and its affiliates, reflecting the company's origins: Boulevard was incubated entirely within Deerfield Discovery and Development (3DC), Deerfield's internal therapeutics research and development engine, rather than assembled through a traditional venture syndicate. The board is chaired by Brian Chow, Managing Director at Deerfield Management, with Frank Nestle, Partner at Deerfield and CEO of 3DC, serving as scientific co-founder and board member. The company said proceeds will advance the Phase I programme for its lead candidate, IND-enabling studies for its second asset, and development of a third programme.
Boulevard's lead asset, BLVD101 (formerly DFX-1092), is a bispecific antibody targeting BAFF and APRIL — two cytokines central to B cell survival and pathological IgA production — being developed for IgAN. In an interim analysis from an ongoing Phase I single-ascending dose study in healthy volunteers, BLVD101 was reported as generally well tolerated, with pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data showing strong IgA suppression and a profile the company said supports once-every-12-weeks dosing. BLVD101 was discovered internally at 3DC.
The second programme, BLVD201 (formerly MTS-128), is a trispecific CD19/BCMA/CD3 T cell engager licensed from Hong Kong-listed METiS TechBio under an exclusive global agreement signed in June 2026, with USD 20 million paid upfront and up to USD 1.6 billion in potential milestones. Designed to simultaneously clear mature B cells and the plasma cells that replenish them, BLVD201 is currently in IND-enabling studies. A third candidate, BLVD301, directed at an undisclosed novel target combination in B cell-driven autoimmune disease, was nominated as a development candidate in June 2026.