What Pimera Therapeutics does

Pimera Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Diego, California. The company is developing a focused pipeline of therapeutics for cancer and other diseases with high unmet medical need, anchored by its lead candidate PMR-116, a novel small-molecule inhibitor of RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription. PMR-116 is designed to exploit dysregulated ribosome biogenesis in MYC-driven cancers by reducing rRNA levels; the resulting excess of free ribosomal proteins activates nucleolar stress pathways that drive growth inhibition or apoptosis in cancer cells. The mechanism has demonstrated preclinical efficacy in multiple MYC-driven models, including tumors resistant to standard-of-care therapies, and Pimera is pursuing a tumor-type-agnostic precision medicine approach by screening patients for MYC overexpression. PMR-116 is currently in dose escalation within a Phase 1a/b clinical trial being conducted in Australia across three sites (Canberra Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and St Vincent's Hospital Sydney) under a co-development arrangement with The Australian National University.

The business model is pre-revenue drug development and commercialization. Pimera has no commercial products, generates no licensing or product revenue today, and expects revenue only upon successful regulatory approval and launch of PMR-116 (or pipeline follow-ons). Operating capital has come primarily from non-dilutive government grants, including a Prostate Cancer Research Program award of more than $1 million from the US Department of Defense in 2022 and a 2025 grant from Australia's Medical Research Future Fund to expand the Phase 1a/b study across prostate, breast, ovarian, and hematological cancer indications. The company employs 1–10 people, pursues partnerships with academic and clinical collaborators in Australia, and uses industry conferences (Biotech Showcase, AACR) plus LinkedIn and press releases as its primary go-to-market and investor-outreach channels.

Name

Pimera Therapeutics

Legal name

Pimera Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://pimeratx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pimera Therapeutics is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company developing PMR-116, a novel RNA polymerase I inhibitor that targets dysregulated ribosome biogenesis in MYC-driven cancers, currently in a Phase 1a/b trial in Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Drug Development and Commercialization: Pimera is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company. As a pre-revenue company in the drug development phase, revenue will be generated from pharmaceutical product sales upon successful clinical development and regulatory approval of PMR-116 and other pipeline programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pimera is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing PMR-116, a novel small-molecule inhibitor of RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription, intended for the treatment of MYC-driven cancers and other diseases with high unmet medical need. PMR-116 is currently in the dose-escalation phase of a Phase 1a/b clinical trial being conducted in Australia, with planned expansion into a tumor type-agnostic basket study across MYC-overexpressing solid tumors including prostate, breast, ovarian, and hematological cancers.

Product overview

Pimera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a focused pipeline of breakthrough medicines for cancer and other diseases with high unmet medical need. The company's primary product is PMR-116, a novel RNA polymerase I inhibitor designed to target dysregulated Pol I transcription in MYC-driven cancers. The company is advancing PMR-116 through dose escalation in a Phase 1a/b clinical trial and intends to expand development in patients with MYC overexpressing solid tumors using a tumor type-agnostic approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PMR-116 PMR-116 is Pimera's lead therapeutic candidate in clinical development for multiple cancer indications including solid tumors. It acts through a novel mechanism of action, inhibiting RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription in MYC-driven cancers; Pol I inhibition reduces rRNA levels, triggering nucleolar stress and cancer-cell death. The compound has demonstrated robust preclinical efficacy in multiple MYC-driven models, including those resistant to standard-of-care treatments, and is being advanced in a tumor type-agnostic approach across MYC-overexpressing solid tumors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Robust preclinical efficacy demonstrated in multiple MYC-driven models, including those resistant to standard-of-care treatments
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Australian National University (ANU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2025Pimera has partnered with ANU to lead the research for the Phase 1a/b clinical trial expansion of PMR-116 for MYC-driven cancers. ANU will conduct the basket trial design bringing together patients with different cancer types based on MYC protein involvement. Professor Ross Hannan serves as CSO and the Centenary Chair in Cancer Research at ANU. Professor Mark Polizzotto will lead the clinical trial.
• Peter MacCallum Cancer CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2025Collaborator in the Phase 1a/b clinical trial of PMR-116. Dr. Luc Furic, Head of Translational Prostate Cancer Research at Peter MacCallum, is collaborating on the DOD grant. Dr. Jayesh Desai, Medical Oncologist at Peter MacCallum, serves on Pimera's Scientific Advisory Board.
• Canberra HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the clinical trial sites for the Phase 1a/b study of PMR-116, where Dr. Mark Polizzotto (hematologist at Canberra Health Services and ANU Professor) will lead the clinical trial.
• St Vincent's Hospital SydneyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical trial site for the Phase 1a/b study of PMR-116, participating in the expansion phase of the clinical trial in Australia.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AstraZeneca: AstraZeneca is a global oncology incumbent with broad investment in DNA damage response, transcription, and MYC-pathway therapeutics, and is the type of large partner that could in-license or acquire a validated Pol I inhibitor like PMR-116 to anchor a next-generation transcription franchise.
• Blueprint Medicines: Blueprint Medicines is a commercial-stage precision oncology company whose basket-trial approach to kinase-driven tumors mirrors Pimera's tumor-type-agnostic MYC biomarker strategy. Comparable as a larger incumbent executing the same kind of biomarker-driven label-expansion play.

Others

• Cylene Pharmaceuticals: Cylene was the predecessor oncology company where Pimera's founders (Mustapha Haddach and Denis Drygin) directed the discovery of CX-5461 and CX-4945. While not currently operational as a standalone entity, it provides direct lineage and historical comparability for Pimera's Pol I program.
• Regulus Therapeutics: Regulus is a clinical-stage RNA-targeted therapeutics company focused on microRNAs, and is also where Pimera co-founder Denis Drygin currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer. Useful comparable for an RNA-biology-based clinical-stage biotech with similar capitalization profile.
• Mirum Pharmaceuticals: Mirum is a commercial-stage rare-disease biopharma co-founded by Pimera board member Susan Dubé. Useful proxy for evaluating Dubé's track record of building biotechs from clinical stage to approval/commercialization.
• Reneo Pharmaceuticals: Reneo is a clinical-stage metabolic disease biotech also co-founded by Pimera board member Susan Dubé. Provides additional proxy for board-level operating and capital-raising track record relevant to Pimera's forward path.

Direct peers

• Black Diamond Therapeutics: Black Diamond is a clinical-stage precision oncology biotech developing allosteric inhibitors across a range of oncogenic drivers, with a tumor-agnostic development approach similar to Pimera's MYC-overexpression strategy. Comparable in stage, modality (small molecule), and biomarker-driven positioning.
• PMV Pharmaceuticals: PMV Pharma is a clinical-stage precision oncology company developing small molecules that restore wild-type p53 function, with a tumor-agnostic biomarker-driven development strategy similar to Pimera's MYC-overexpression patient selection. Comparable in stage, modality, and precision-oncology positioning.
• eFFECTOR Therapeutics: eFFECTOR develops small-molecule oncology drugs targeting translation factors and the integrated stress response, including MNK inhibitors and a selective eIF4E inhibitor. Like Pimera, eFFECTOR targets dysregulated RNA/protein synthesis machinery in cancer cells, and was a clinical-stage public biotech in the same translational-oncology niche.
• Senhwa Biosciences: Senhwa is developing CX-5461, the first-in-class RNA polymerase I inhibitor now in clinical trials for hematologic cancers and solid tumors. Pimera's PMR-116 is described as a second-generation Pol I inhibitor and was co-developed by the same scientist (Denis Drygin), making Senhwa the most directly comparable peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pimera-therapeutics/?viewAsMember=true

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pimera Therapeutics