Boulevard Bio is stepping out of stealth with $65 million in backing from Deerfield Management and a starting line-up of three precision immunology candidates, including a dual BAFF/APRIL antibody for IgA nephropathy (IgAN) that it says could be dosed just once every 12 weeks.The New York-based biotech, which was incubated by Deerfield Management within Deerfield Discovery and Development (3DC), is hoping BLVD101 and its potential for extended dosing will allow it to stand out against a growing field of therapies aimed at the B-cell biology underlying IgAN.Vera Therapeutics' recently approved Trutakna (atacicept-vymj), another dual BAFF/APRIL blocker, is administered weekly via an at-home autoinjector. Vertex Pharmaceuticals' similar therapy povetacicept, which awaits an FDA decision by Nov. 30, is designed for monthly dosing (see – KOL Views Q&A: Vertex's IgAN contender has first-line potential, but access will be key).An edge in designHowever, Boulevard CEO Mahesh Karande calls BLVD101 a "true bispecific" with a dedicated binding site for each target."The fusion proteins ahead of us use a single receptor fragment to catch both cytokines, so the two targets compete for binding, which can limit the depth of response. Our design aims for equal, sustained blockade of both BAFF and APRIL, and our interim Phase I data support exactly what we had predicted, a 12-week dosing profile," Karande told FirstWord."For a patient diagnosed young, that means hundreds to thousands of fewer doses in a lifetime," he added.According to Boulevard, the ongoing Phase I study in healthy volunteers has found BLVD101 to be generally well tolerated with a favourable safety profile, while interim pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic results show strong IgA suppression.Immune resetThe startup's second programme, BLVD201, is a trispecific CD19/BCMA/CD3-targeting T-cell engager intended to produce a deeper "immune reset" by aiming to clear the antibody-producing compartment along with the cells that replenish it. The company licensed the programme from METiS TechBio in June after evaluating more than 20 candidates over roughly 18 months, according to Karande."We concluded this one was the strongest," he said, noting that Boulevard co-founder Georg Schett, a pioneer in immune reset, helped evaluate and validate the molecule. BLVD201 is now in IND-enabling studies.Schett said the complexity of B cell-driven autoimmune disease calls for medicines capable of hitting "specific, sometimes-overlapping mechanisms and indications. We founded Boulevard to meet that challenge."Meanwhile, Boulevard's third programme, BLVD301, targets a novel combination in B cell-driven autoimmune disease "supported by established genetic evidence." It was nominated as a development candidate in June.