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Ikena Oncology Inc. (IKNA) and Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals announced the appointment of Kristin Yarema as chief executive officer of the combined company following their anticipated merger.
The merged entity will operate as ImageneBio Inc. and trade on Nasdaq under ticker symbol "IMA" after the transaction closes by the end of July. Ikena shareholders approved the merger at the company’s annual meeting on July 15.
Yarema brings over two decades of leadership experience in human therapeutics. She most recently served as president and CEO of Poseida Therapeutics Inc., an oncology and autoimmune disease company, from January 2024 until its acquisition by Roche in January 2025. Prior to that role, she held the position of president of cell therapy at Poseida starting in 2023.
Her previous experience includes serving as chief commercial officer at Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. from 2020 to 2022 and holding various senior positions at Amgen from 2013 to 2020, including vice president and therapeutic area head roles across multiple divisions. She also spent five years at Novartis in global strategic marketing and development roles.
The combined company will focus on developing IMG-007, a non-depleting anti-OX40 monoclonal antibody for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The therapeutic candidate recently completed Phase 2a clinical trials in atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata.
The merger includes a concurrent $75 million private placement. IMG-007 was originally discovered by HUTCHMED and features a subcutaneous formulation with a 34.7-day half-life at anticipated therapeutic dose levels.
Yarema holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and English from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She currently serves on the boards of the Celiac Disease Foundation and the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine.