Kura Oncology is gearing up to stake a claim in the heated battleground for menin inhibitors to treat acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), announcing Wednesday that its drug ziftomenib — partnered with Kyowa Kirin — met the primary endpoint in a key trial, while unveiling plans for a Phase III programme in newly diagnosed patients.

Japan-based Kyowa Kirin is fronting $330 million and pledging up to $1.1 billion in milestones to split the U.S. profits of Kura Oncology’s phase 2-stage oral leukemia treatment as well as to secure the commercialization rights for the rest of the world.

The development of Kura Oncology’s menin inhibitor ziftomenib for acute myeloid leukaemia has been held back by safety concerns in the past, but new data suggests the program is firmly back on track – and the biotech has filed a $100 million offering to help fund its future development.

 Kura Oncology (Nasdaq: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed the KOMET-001 Phase 1b study of KO-539 in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on a partial clinical hold. 

Precision medicine developer Kura Oncology is positioned to make a meaningful difference in the treatment of cancer in the next few years with its two, wholly-owned, small molecule compounds.

Biotech stocks staged a steady recovery last week. ASCO presentations dominated the headlines, with Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: IOVA) and Mirati Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: MRTX) among the biggest gainers. The IPO calendar was empty and there were a slew of clinical trial readouts that swayed stocks.

The following are key catalysts expected in the unfolding week.

Kura Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq:KURA)  announced on 5/2/18 that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a new patent protecting the company's lead product candidate, tipifarnib. U.S. patent 9,956,215, “Methods of Treating Cancer Patients with Farnesyltransferase Inhibitors,” includes multiple claims directed to the use of tipifarnib as a method of treating patients with CXCL12-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML).