Cancer drug developer Kura Oncology (Nasdaq: KURA) has created a new, independently funded company, Caspian Therapeutics, to explore whether menin-blocking drugs can treat diabetes and related metabolic conditions.
Caspian has raised $50 million from a group of investors led by BVF Partners. Others in the round include the T1D Fund, Invus, Montanova and Eli Lilly, along with Kura itself, its senior executives and several biotech entrepreneurs. Kura will hold roughly half of Caspian and keep a board seat, while continuing to concentrate on cancer.
A different way to tackle diabetes-
Most diabetes treatments today control blood sugar or replace insulin, but they do not rebuild the pancreas’s ability to make it. Caspian is betting on a different route. Menin is a protein that appears to slow the growth of pancreatic β-cells, the cells that make insulin. Blocking it could let those cells multiply again.
In the company’s laboratory studies, this approach increased β-cell numbers, raised natural insulin output and improved blood sugar control in several animal models of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The gains reportedly lasted after dosing stopped. In human islet tissue models, only β-cells multiplied.
The lead drug-
Caspian’s lead candidate, KO-7246, is an oral pill built for long-term use. It is a next-generation, highly selective menin inhibitor. The company plans to file for U.S. regulatory clearance to start human trials as soon as practicable. Early studies will look at safety, how the drug moves through the body, and whether it boosts insulin production. The funding is also meant to support a second candidate.
Leadership and upcoming data-
Robert Spencer, Ph.D., a biotech veteran formerly of Neurommune Therapeutics and Cara Therapeutics, becomes Caspian’s president and chief operating officer. Kura CEO Troy Wilson will chair the board.
Kura’s chief scientific officer, Francis Burrows, will present the preclinical results as an oral presentation at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting on September 29.
Caution: The findings come from animal and laboratory studies, and no human data exist yet. Many drugs that look promising at this stage fail in later testing.
Written By: Sayan Das
Graphics by: Pramit Hazra
