Redx Pharma and Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. announced an unanimously recommended Business Combination of the two companies via a proposed all share merger transaction. Redx is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel, small molecule, targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and fibrotic diseases and the emerging area of cancer-associated fibrosis. Jounce is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, dedicated to transforming the treatment of cancer by developing therapies that enable the immune system to attack tumors and provide long-lasting benefits to patients through a biomarker approach.

The Business Combination will create a transatlantic organization with proven expertise in both small molecule drugs and biologics, and a clinical pipeline with multiple value inflection points in the near and medium term. The combined group's priority will be the development of RXC007, a next-generation selective ROCK2 inhibitor, which is currently being assessed in a Phase 2a study in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), with topline data expected in First Quarter 2024. ROCK2 inhibition is now a commercially validated target with potential in multiple disease areas, following the recent US FDA approval and launch of the first drug with this mechanism of action.

In addition to the ongoing clinical development plan in IPF, Redx has also generated supportive preclinical data that highlights the broad potential of next-generation ROCK2 inhibitors across a number of fibrotic indications where there remains a significant unmet need, which supports potential development opportunities in other interstitial lung diseases and cancer-associated fibrosis. Additionally, RXC004 is being developed as a targeted treatment for Wnt-ligand dependent cancers and is progressing through Phase 2 trials, and RXC008, a GI-targeted ROCK inhibitor for fibrostenotic Crohn's disease, is expected to enter clinical development in first half 2024.