Quince Therapeutics rebrands as IRulya with new CEO and $116M cash

Quince Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: QNCX) announced a corporate transformation on October 9, 2026, changing its name to IRulya Therapeutics Inc. effective at 4:01 p.m. Eastern Time. This rebranding comes after the firm completed its merger with Orphai Therapeutics and closed a private placement that raised roughly $115 million in gross proceeds during May 2026. IRulya’s common stock will begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker “IRLA” effective October 12, 2026.

The company is shifting its focus to the clinical development of LAM-001, an investigational formulation of inhaled rapamycin. Brigette Roberts, M.D., who previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Orphai Therapeutics, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of IRulya. Dr. Roberts stated that the strengthened balance sheet positions the company to advance LAM-001 through data readouts across Phase 2 clinical studies in three pulmonary indications: bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD), and sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary hypertension (SAPH).

IRulya reported a cash balance of $116 million as of June 30, 2026, which the company expects to fund operations through the end of 2028. This capital supports anticipated clinical data readouts from Phase 2 studies. The Phase 2 trial for BOS is ongoing, with data anticipated in the first quarter of 2027. A Phase 2b trial for PH-ILD was recently initiated, with data expected in the first quarter of 2028. The company plans to initiate a Phase 2 study in SAPH in the fourth quarter of 2026, with data anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2028.

Significant leadership changes accompanied the rebranding. John Militello, CPA, was appointed Chief Financial Officer, and Keith R. Fandrick, Ph.D., was appointed Chief Operating Officer. Dirk Thye, the former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of Quince, and Brendan Hannah, the former Chief Operating Officer, Chief Business Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer, have resigned from their positions.

The Board of Directors was strengthened with the addition of Catherine Bonuccelli, M.D., Leone Patterson, James Valentine, J.D., M.H.S., and Drayton Wise. LAM-001 is designed as a once-daily dry powder inhaled formulation intended to enhance pulmonary delivery and reduce systemic exposure relative to oral administration. The drug targets the mTOR pathway, which is implicated in multiple pulmonary diseases where inhibition has shown potential to reduce or reverse disease processes in nonclinical models.