Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Nature of Business

v3.24.3
Nature of Business
3 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2024
Nature of Business  
Nature of Business

iBio, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

1.   Nature of Business

iBio, Inc. (also referred to as "iBio", or the "Company") is a preclinical stage biotechnology company leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for the development of hard-to-drug precision antibodies. The Company’s proprietary technology stack is designed to minimize downstream development risks by employing AI-guided epitope-steering and monoclonal antibody (mAb) optimization.

Since September 2022, iBio has focused on utilizing AI and ML to discover and design antibodies against hard-to-drug targets upon the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of RubrYc Therapeutics, Inc. ("RubrYc") was consummated. This acquisition commenced the Company’s transition from a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) to an AI-enabled biotech company.  iBio’s transition concluded in May 2024 upon the closing of the sale of the CDMO facility in Texas.  These strategic decisions the Company executed enable it to solely focus resources on the development of AI-powered precision antibodies, positioning iBio at the forefront of this exciting field.  

One of the key features of iBio’s technology stack is the patented epitope-steering AI-engine. This advanced technology allows us to target specific regions of proteins with precision enabling the creation of antibodies highly specific to therapeutically relevant regions within large target proteins, potentially improving their efficacy and safety profile.  Another integral part of iBio’s technology stack is the ML based antibody-optimizing StableHu™ technology. When coupled with the Company’s mammalian display technology, StableHu has been shown to accelerate the Lead Optimization process and potentially reduces downstream risks, making the overall development process faster, more efficient and cost-effective.

iBio also developed the EngageTx™ platform, which provides an optimized next-generation CD3 T-cell engager antibody panel. This panel is characterized by a wide spectrum of potencies, Non-Human Primate (NHP) cross-reactivity, enhanced humanness of the antibodies, and a maintained tumor cell killing capacity, all while reducing cytokine release. These attributes are meticulously designed to fine-tune the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the Company’s antibody products. By incorporating EngageTx into iBio’s own development initiatives, the Company’s internal pre-clinical pipeline reaps the benefits of the same cutting-edge technology extended to its potential partners.

iBio’s technology stack also includes ShieldTx™, an antibody masking technology enabling the creation of conditionally activated antibodies. These masks keep antibodies inactive until they reach diseased tissue, where the masks are removed, and the antibodies are activated. This mechanism is thought to broaden the therapeutic window, potentially improving efficacy and safety of treatments. Conditionally activated antibodies are also believed to enable the use of drug combinations that are otherwise considered too toxic, and they open the door to pursuing targets which, due to their expression in multiple tissues, would otherwise raise safety concerns.

iBio’s scientific team, comprised of experienced AI/ML scientists and biopharmaceutical scientists, located side-by-side in its San Diego laboratory, possess the skills and capabilities to rapidly advance antibodies in house from concept to in vivo proof-of-concept (POC). This multidisciplinary expertise allows the Company to efficiently create a preclinical portfolio and rapidly advance preclinical pipeline programs towards clinical development.

Artificial Intelligence in Antibody Discovery and Development

iBio is leveraging its AI-powered technology stack to enhance the success rate of identifying antibodies for challenging target proteins, expedite the process of antibody optimization, improve developability, and engineer finely calibrated bi-specifics. By continually refining the Company’s AI algorithms, incorporating new data sources, and developing robust experimental validation processes, iBio is paving the way for groundbreaking advancements in antibody design and drug discovery.

Pre-Clinical Pipeline

iBio is currently in the process of building and advancing its preclinical pipeline by leveraging its technology stack focused on hard-to-drug targets and molecules offering differentiation in both obesity and cardiometabolic disease space, as well as immune-oncology. The Company’s current therapeutics being developed are all in preclinical development and it has not completed any clinical trials in humans for any therapeutic protein product candidate produced using iBio technology and there is a risk that the Company will be unsuccessful in developing or commercializing any product candidates. As the Company continues to leverage its technology stack and develop its existing immune-oncology pre-clinical pipeline, the Company also is seeking strategic partners with the capabilities to more rapidly advance these programs towards the clinic. iBio also continues to assess its options rights to license three of the four assets under the

AstralBio collaboration to add obesity and cardiometabolic programs into its pre-clinical pipeline. Under this strategic collaboration with AstraBio, it affords iBio the opportunity to expand the Company’s pipeline and build a presence in the cardiometabolic disease space.Graphic