On May 8, 2018 Kura Oncology, Inc., (Nasdaq: KURA) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision medicines for oncology, reported first quarter 2018 financial results and provided a corporate update (Press release, Kura Oncology, MAY 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234526237]).
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"I am very pleased with the progress we made over the past quarter, highlighted by a successful end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA," said Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Kura Oncology. "We are working diligently to initiate AIM-HN, our registration-directed trial of tipifarnib in HRAS mutant HNSCC, as well as SEQ-HN, our concurrent screening and outcomes study. We believe that tipifarnib has the potential to become an important treatment option for patients with HRAS mutant HNSCC, and we are committed to executing the clinical and regulatory strategy that best positions it for success."
"We are also excited about the potential to expand the clinical utility of tipifarnib to other solid tumor and hematologic indications," continued Dr. Wilson. "We are evaluating tipifarnib in multiple biomarker-guided Phase 2 clinical trials, and our goal is to generate proof-of-concept data in one or more of these additional indications by year end. We believe we have the cash runway to advance tipifarnib and our emerging pipeline of drug candidates through a series of upcoming potential data catalysts, and we look forward to providing further updates on our progress in the months ahead."
Corporate Update
Registration-directed trial of tipifarnib in HRAS mutant HNSCC – Following a positive Phase 2 trial in HRAS mutant HNSCC and a successful end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA, Kura is planning to conduct a global, registration-directed trial of its lead drug candidate tipifarnib in at least 59 recurrent or metastatic patients with HRAS mutant HNSCC. The primary endpoint of the trial will be objective response rate. Based on feedback from the FDA, Kura believes that the single-arm trial, if positive, could support an application for accelerated approval. Kura anticipates that the trial, called AIM-HN, will require fewer than 100 clinical sites worldwide and take approximately two years to enroll. Kura expects to initiate the AIM-HN trial in the second half of 2018.
Screening and outcomes study in HRAS mutant HNSCC – Concurrent with the AIM-HN trial, Kura is also planning to conduct a non-interventional, case-control study in HNSCC, called SEQ-HN. The study is expected to facilitate the identification of patients with HRAS mutations for potential enrollment into the AIM-HN trial. In addition, SEQ-HN is designed to characterize the natural history of patients with HRAS mutant HNSCC, which may support any future discussions with regulatory agencies concerning the appropriateness and nature of a potential approval.
Tipifarnib in HRAS mutant lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) – Kura recently presented new preclinical data showing that tipifarnib is highly active in HRAS mutant LSCC tumor models. The data, presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in April 2018, illustrate the potential for tipifarnib in the treatment of HRAS mutant LSCC. Kura is collaborating with the Spanish Lung Cancer Group, a cooperative group consisting of more than 150 public and private oncology centers in Spain, on a proof-of-concept trial of tipifarnib in HRAS mutant LSCC. Kura anticipates this investigator-sponsored trial to initiate later this year.
Patent protection for tipifarnib in hematologic malignancies – Kura recently announced the issuance of U.S. patent 9,956,215, "Methods of Treating Cancer Patients with Farnesyltransferase Inhibitors." The newly issued patent includes multiple claims directed to the use of tipifarnib as a method of treating patients with CXCL12-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and has an expiration date of November 2037, excluding any possible patent term extension. This patent comes less than one year after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a similar patent for tipifarnib in HRAS mutant HNSCC, reinforcing the potential of Kura’s broader strategy to generate intellectual property related to its drug candidates and their use in treating genetically defined patient populations.
Potential biomarker for KO-947 in squamous cell carcinomas – At the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in April 2018, Kura presented new preclinical data for its ERK inhibitor, KO-947, including the identification of 11q13 amplification as a potential biomarker of activity in squamous cell carcinomas. Amplification of chromosomal region 11q13 is a common genetic alteration in squamous cell carcinomas, comprising approximately 20% of HNSCC and 50% of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Upcoming Milestones
Initiation of AIM-HN, a registration-directed trial of tipifarnib in HRAS mutant HNSCC, and SEQ-HN, a non-interventional, case-control study in HRAS mutant HNSCC, in the second half of 2018
Additional data from RUN-HN, an ongoing Phase 2 trial of tipifarnib in HRAS mutant HNSCC, in the second half of 2018
Biomarker-enriched data from ongoing Phase 2 trials of tipifarnib in hematologic malignancies in the second half of 2018
Initiation of a proof-of-concept study of tipifarnib in HRAS mutant LSCC sponsored by the Spanish Lung Cancer Group in 2018
Data from a Phase 1 dose-escalation trial of KO-947 in solid tumors in the second half of 2018
Submission of an investigational new drug application for KO-539, a potent and selective inhibitor of the menin-MLL interaction, in late 2018 or early 2019
Financial Results
Research and development expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $11.6 million, compared to $5.5 million for the first quarter of 2017.
General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $3.4 million, compared to $2.1 million for the first quarter of 2017.
Net loss for the first quarter of 2018 was $14.6 million, compared to $7.5 million for the first quarter of 2017.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $138.2 million as of March 31, 2018, which included $57.7 million in net proceeds under an ATM facility in January 2018, compared with $93.1 million as of December 31, 2017.
Management expects that current cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will be sufficient to fund its current operations into the first half of 2020.
Conference Call and Webcast
Kura’s management will host a webcast and conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT today, May 8, 2018, to discuss the financial results for the first quarter of 2018 and provide a corporate update. The live call may be accessed by dialing (877)
516-3514 for domestic callers and (281) 973-6129 for international callers and using conference ID #7199738. A live webcast of the call will be available from the Investors and Media section of the company website at www.kuraoncology.com, and will be archived there for 30 days.