ImmixBio, a West L.A.-based startup developing cancer therapies, announced on Friday it submitted a confidential filing to go public.
Ilya Rachman, chief executive of the nine-year-old company which has developed a combination therapy meant to prevent cancers from resisting treatments and evolving, would not specify how many shares will be offered or the price range.
ImmixBio CEO Dr. Ilya Rachman/ Courtesy of ImmixBio
The company's therapy has shown promising results in treating glioblastoma, ovarian tumors and multiple myeloma in preclinical studies
Rachman said he wants to take the company public so he can further the development of the cancer drug and expand it to treat colon cancer. He also hopes to continue Immix's work on inflammatory bowel disease treatment that is in preclinical stages.
"This company truly benefits the ultimate consumer, which is the massive patient population, as well as investors who want to back worthwhile clinical innovation that bring meaningful improvement to standards of care in oncology," said Rachman.
The therapy is currently undergoing clinical trials to treat ovarian cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and solid tumors to determine what dose is appropriate for patients. The first U.S. patient was dosed in 2020.
Early clinical trials showed promising results for patients dealing with soft-tissue sarcoma, a rare type of cancer. Using Immix therapy, patients' cancers were controlled for roughly four months, which allows doctors to continue experimenting with different treatments before the cancer either grows or evolves.
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Similar programs are common in the startup world and in the creator economy. For example, social media companies can use accelerator programs not only to support rising stars but to lure those creators—and their audiences—to the company’s platforms. Genies believes avatars will be a crucial part of the internet’s future and is similarly using its program to encourage creators to launch brands using Genies’ platform.
“I think us being able to work hands on with this next era—this next generation of designers and entrepreneurs—not only gets us a chance to understand how people want to use our platform and tools, but also allows us to nurture those types of creators that are going to exist and continue to build within our ecosystem,” said Allison Sturges, Genies’ head of strategic partnerships.
DIY Collective’s initial cohort will include roughly 15 people, Sturges said. They will spend three weeks at the Genies headquarters, participating in workshops and hearing from CEOs, fashion designers, tattoo artists and speakers from other industries, she added. Genies will provide creatives with funding to build brands and audiences, though Sturges declined to share how much. By the end of the program, participants will be able to sell digital goods through the company’s NFT marketplace, The Warehouse. There, people can buy, sell and trade avatar creations, such as wearable items.
Genies will accept applications for the debut program until Aug. 1. It will kick off on Aug. 8, and previous experience in digital fashion and 3D art development is not required.
Sturges said that the program will teach people “about the tools and capabilities that they will have” through Genies’ platform, as well as “how to think about building their own avatar ecosystem brands and even their own audience.”
Image courtesy of Genies
Founded in 2017, Genies established itself by making avatars for celebrities from Rihanna to Russell Westbrook, who have used the online lookalikes for social media and sponsorship opportunities. The 150-person company, which has raised at least $250 million to date, has secured partnerships with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to make avatars for each music label’s entire roster of artists. Former Disney boss Bob Iger joined the company’s board in March.
The company wants to extend avatars to everyone else. Avatars—digital figures that represent an individual—may be the way people interact with each other in the 3D virtual worlds of the metaverse, the much-hyped iteration of the internet where users may one day work, shop and socialize. A company spokesperson previously told dot.LA that Genies has been beta testing avatar creator tools with invite-only users and gives creators “full ownership and commercialization rights” over their creations collecting a 5% transaction fee each time an avatar NFT is sold.
“It's an opportunity for people to build their most expressive and authentic self within this digital era,” Sturges said of avatars.
The company’s call for creators could be a sign that Genies is close to rolling out the Warehouse and its tools publicly. Asked what these avatar tools might look like, the startup went somewhat quiet again.
Allison Sturges said, “I think that's probably something that I'll hold off on sharing. We will be rolling some of this out soon.”
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