San Diego-based cAMPfield Therapeutics, Inc. has launched with a USD 180 million Series A financing to advance prifemilast (HY1999/HPP737), a once-daily oral PDE4B-selective inhibitor, for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease — entering a field where oral therapies remain limited by tolerability constraints and modest efficacy despite more than a dozen approved options.
The round was led by Frazier Life Sciences and included Deep Track Capital, Forbion, Abingworth, Venrock, Longitude Capital, Novo Holdings, and RA Capital. The company said proceeds will fund global Phase IIb and Phase II trials of prifemilast in moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, respectively. No prior funding rounds have been disclosed; this represents cAMPfield's first capital raise.
The founding team includes Asit Parikh, formerly Head of Gastroenterology at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and a development leader of vedolizumab (Entyvio); Keith Usiskin, formerly VP and Head of Gastroenterology at Celgene/Bristol Myers Squibb and development leader of apremilast (Otezla) and ozanimod (Zeposia) for IBD; and Mark Stenhouse, formerly COO of Prometheus Biosciences and VP of US Sales and Marketing at AbbVie with responsibility for adalimumab (Humira) commercialization. Bill Gerhart, a Senior Advisor at Mountainfield, serves as CEO.
Prifemilast is an investigational PDE4B-selective inhibitor originally developed by vTv Therapeutics Inc. and subsequently licensed to China-based Newsoara Biopharma Co., Ltd. cAMPfield holds exclusive global development and commercialization rights outside Greater China through a license from Newsoara. The molecule has an extensive development history across the US and China, with more than 700 clinical trial participants dosed to date, including more than 250 with 52 weeks of exposure and reaching Phase III in plaque psoriasis. PDE4 inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy across multiple inflammatory diseases but have historically been limited by gastrointestinal adverse events. Prifemilast's selective inhibition of PDE4B over PDE4D is intended to preserve efficacy while improving tolerability.