Watertown's First Potential IPO since 2023, Remix's Positive Clinical Trial Results, and Triveni Jumps into the Eczema Market
Plus the Boston Business Journal covers the rise of Watertown's Biotech scene, and more
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We hope you enjoyed the long Memorial Day weekend! Before jumping in, don’t forget to take a look at the Boston Business Journal’s deep dive article and video into the rise of Watertown as a biotech hub, building on the data released in our annual industry report. If you find our newsletters and annual reports informative, subscribe here to support our work.
Ingenia Therapeutics Announces Approval for their IPO.
Ingenia Therapeutics headquartered in the Lynx Building, announced last week that they had received received approval from the South Korean stock exchange KRX for an initial public offering. Ingenia is headquartered in Watertown, but also operates sites in South Korea and Austria, and Founder and CEO Sangyeul Han’s career bridges the US and South Korean biotech scene. After several years of economic malaise, biotech IPOs have made a comeback in 2026. Ingenia’s announcement is the 9th IPO for a Massachusetts biotech this year (there were only 2 in 2025, 6 in 2024, and 2 in 2023), and Watertown’s first IPO since Neumora went public back in 2023.
Ingenia’s main technology is a proprietary antibody domain which they claim can directly activate TIE2 receptors without the need for a TIE2 ligand. Their lead compound IGT-427, now known as MK-8748, which is being developed in collaboration with Merck for wet age related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease characterized by the growth of new blood vessels in the eye that leak fluid, leading to scarring and degeneration of the macula, and ultimately loss of vision. The compound, which entered a phase 2b/3 trial in April 2026, works by both activating TIE2 to stop blood vessel leaks and by sequestering the growth factor VEGF to prevent new blood vessels from growing.
As covered in previous newsletters, Watertown is emerging as an AMD research hub, with two other companies, EyePoint Pharmaceuticals and Frontera Therapeutics working on alternative treatments for AMD. Eyepoint in particular has a head start on Ingenia with their compound DURAVYU, an implanted bioerodable scaffold that delivers the drug vorolanib to inhibit VEGF signaling pathways. DURAVYU is currently in Phase 3 trials, and the data from the trial is expected by the middle of this year, with a potential new drug application to follow .
While Ingenia IPO has been approved by regulators, at the time of writing the company has not yet announced an initial offering price or date for its listing.
Remix Announces Positive Phase 1 Trial Results for mRNA degrader REM-422
Remix Therapeutics, headquartered at Arsenal Yards, recently announced positive results from their Aria Phase 1/2 clinical trial studying their lead compound REM-422 in Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC). REM-422 is a novel RNA degrader that removes the oncogene protein MYB by promoting the inclusion of a poison exon during MYB mRNA splicing, leading to the activation of cell’s nonsense mediated decay pathway which detects and removed mutated mRNA. The clinical trial found that REM-422 was generally well tolerated at the recommended phase 2 dose. The disease control rate was 100%, with a 43% overall response rate .
With these positive results, Remix intents to move forward with the Phase 2 arm of the trial to assess the safety and efficacy of REM-422 across a larger biomarker responsive ACC patient population. ACC is a rare cancer that develops in the salivary glands, and according to Remix ACC currently has no therapeutic treatment options. Due to both limited available therapeutic options and the Phase 1 data for REM-422, the FDA granted a fast track designation to REM-422 back in March.
Triveni advances in crowded Atopic Dermatitis Race with the First Patient Dosed in Clinical Trial of TRIV-573
Triveni Bio, Remix’s soon to be neighbor at 100 Forge, dosed the first healthy volunteers in their Phase 1 trial of TRIV-573, in development for the treatment of Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema). Unlike fellow Arsenal companies Kymera Therapeutics and Enanta Pharmaceuticals, which are attempting to develop an orally available small molecule therapy for AD as an alternative to injectable antibodies, Triveni is developing an advanced bispecific antibody targeting KLK5/7 and IL-13, which they hypothesize will target both downstream inflammation signaling (via IL-13, the mechanism of action currently approved biologics Dupixent, Ebglyss, and Adbry) as well as promote repair of the underlying skin barrier dysfunction via KLK5/7 inhibition. The revenue potential for an approved AD treatment and related anti-inflammatory therapies is very high, with approved therapies like Ebglyss and Dupixent generating hundreds of millions ( Ebglyss, $408 million) or billions (Dupixent, $4.9 billion across multiple indications) in revenue for Eli Lilly and Regeneron/Sanofi respectively.
Triveni also announced that they aim to move TRIV-573 into a patient proof of concept trial in the second half of 2026.
Quick Hits
Deals
Antibody design company Abkyu, headquartered at Cambridge Scientific labs, announced partnerships with biologics discovery CRO Mosaic Biosciences to support Mosiac clients with single domain antibody (VHH) design services. Separately, Abkyu announced a partnership with Philadelphia based Artemia Therapeutics to develop VHH candidates for Artemia’s T-cell engager programs. No financial details of either deal were disclosed.
Departures
Parallel Bio appears to have moved to San Francisco.
People
Seismic Therapeutic and Tectonic Therapeutic co-founder Tim Springer was named to the Forbes 250 Innovator List.
That’s all the news for now!
