Kronos Bio Announces Discovery Collaboration with Genentech to Advance Novel Therapies Against Transcriptional Targets in Oncology
January 09 2023 - 7:00AM
Kronos Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: KRON), a company dedicated to
transforming the lives of those affected by cancer, announced today
that it has entered into a discovery collaboration in the field of
oncology with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, focused on
discovering and developing small-molecule drugs that modulate
transcription factor targets selected by Genentech.
The partnership will allow Genentech to leverage
Kronos Bio’s expertise to identify protein-protein interactions,
genetic dependencies and gene expression signatures to better
understand and target the oncogenic activity of transcription
factors in cancer types of interest. Under the collaboration,
researchers at the two companies will collaborate using Kronos
Bio’s proprietary drug discovery platform, including the small
molecule microarray (SMM) for hit finding, to build upon research
conducted to date by Genentech.
“This, our first collaboration, brings together
expertise from both companies with the goal of answering
fundamental scientific questions about the biology of cancer that
we hope will one day lead to the advancement of new clinical
candidates,” said Norbert Bischofberger, Ph.D., president and chief
executive officer of Kronos Bio. “We are pleased to be able to
leverage our unique platform to collaborate with Genentech to
further Kronos Bio’s understanding of transcription-driven
oncogenesis and ability to identify novel targets involved.”
Kronos Bio will lead discovery and research
activities to a defined preclinical point when Genentech will have
the exclusive right to pursue further preclinical and clinical
development and commercialization. Under the terms of the
agreement, Kronos Bio will receive an upfront payment of $20
million and be eligible for additional payments, which could total
up to $554 million, based on reaching certain milestones, including
discovery, preclinical, clinical and commercial milestones, as well
as tiered royalties on any potential products that are
commercialized as a result of the collaboration.
“We are excited about the possibilities that
this collaboration with Kronos Bio brings to further our
understanding of complex scientific networks with the goal of
bringing highly effective medicines to patients,” said James Sabry,
Global Head of Roche Pharma Partnering.
About Kronos Bio’s Discovery
EngineKronos Bio is focused on targeting the activity of
oncogenic transcription factors that have a well-defined and
central role in driving particular types of cancer. The company
leverages its expertise to map transcription regulatory networks,
enabling the identification of protein-protein interactions,
genetic dependencies and gene expression signatures of specific
oncogenic transcription factors in cancers of interest. Utilizing
these transcription regulatory network maps, the company relies on
a number of tools, including its proprietary Small Molecule
Microarray (SMM) to screen for new drug starting points.
About Kronos Bio, Inc.Kronos
Bio is a biopharmaceutical company that is advancing two
investigational compounds in clinical trials for patients with
cancer. The company is developing the CDK9 inhibitor, KB-0742, as a
treatment for MYC-amplified solid tumors, and lanraplenib, a
next-generation SYK inhibitor, for patients with
relapsed/refractory FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia. The
company’s scientific focus is on developing medicines that target
the dysregulated transcription that is the hallmark of cancer and
other serious diseases.
Kronos Bio is based in San Mateo, Calif., and
has a research facility in Cambridge, Mass. For more information,
visit www.kronosbio.com or follow the company on LinkedIn.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not
statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements for
purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release, in some cases,
uses terms such as “will,” “could,” “expects,” “goal,”
“anticipates” or other words that convey uncertainty of future
events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Kronos
Bio’s intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or
current expectations concerning, among other things: activities to
be performed under the collaboration with Genentech; the goals of
the collaboration; potential milestone and other payments Kronos
Bio may receive under the collaboration with Genentech; and other
statements that are not historical fact. Actual results and the
timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and
uncertainties, including, without limitation: risks inherent in the
discovery and clinical development of novel therapeutics; risks
related to collaborations with third parties, including third-party
performance; Genentech has certain rights to exclusivity under the
collaboration, and Kronos Bio may not realize the benefits of the
collaboration; and risks associated with the sufficiency of Kronos
Bio’s cash resources and need for additional capital. These and
other risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail in
Kronos Bio’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(“SEC”), including under the heading “Risk Factors” in its
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2022, filed with the SEC on November 8, 2022. Any forward-looking
statements that are made in this press release speak only as of the
date of this press release and are based on management’s
assumptions and estimates as of such date. Except as required by
law, Kronos Bio assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, after the date of this press release.
Investors:Claudia StyslingerArgot
Partners212-600-1902kronosbio@argotpartners.com
Media:Sheryl SeapyReal
Chemistry949-903-4750sseapy@realchemistry.com
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