Kronos Bio Announces Plan to Optimize Resource Allocation, Restructure and Contain Costs Following Positive Preliminary Clinical Data from its KB-0742 Phase 1/2 Study
November 02 2023 - 4:05PM
Kronos Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: KRON), a company dedicated to
transforming the lives of those affected by cancer, today announced
a plan to optimize its resource allocation, restructure, and
contain costs in light of the positive preliminary safety and
efficacy clinical data from its Phase 1/2 study of KB-0742. This
plan positions the company to maximize the potential of KB-0742
while continuing to advance the development of lanraplenib,
currently in the dose escalation portion of a Phase 1b/2 study. The
company will also focus its discovery efforts on maturing projects
and its Genentech collaboration activities. Kronos Bio expects that
these restructuring efforts, which include a 19% reduction in
force, will extend its cash runway into 2026.
“We are committed to fully exploring the promise
of KB-0742. At the recent AACR-NCI-EORTC meeting, we shared
positive preliminary efficacy and safety data from the Phase 1 dose
escalation portion of the Phase 1/2 KB-0742 study. The data
demonstrated on-mechanism, single agent anti-tumor activity in
heavily pre-treated patients with transcriptionally addicted solid
tumors. We have not yet defined a maximum tolerated dose and we may
unlock even better anti-tumor activity at higher doses or on
alternative schedules as the study progresses,” said Norbert
Bischofberger, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of
Kronos Bio. “The measures we have taken today underscore that
commitment. By streamlining our operations and extending our
runway, we best position the company to optimally fund our KB-0742
clinical studies while continuing to focus on the clinical
development of lanraplenib, the advancement of our maturing
discovery projects, and our collaboration with Genentech.”
Dr. Bischofberger continued, “We are grateful
for the contributions of all of our employees, including those
departing Kronos Bio today, whose hard work and dedication has
gotten us to this point. We are confident that by taking these
difficult but necessary measures we will be able to deliver on our
mission to bring forward new and innovative therapies for
difficult-to-treat cancers.”
About KB-0742
KB-0742 is a highly selective, orally
bioavailable inhibitor of cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) in
development for the treatment of transcriptionally addicted solid
tumors. CDK9 is a global regulator of transcription and plays an
essential role in both the expression and function of oncogenic
transcription factors such as MYC, a well-characterized oncogene
that is amplified in approximately 30% of all solid tumors, and
amplified or highly overexpressed in lung, ovarian, and triple
negative breast cancers. KB-0742 was generated and optimized from a
compound that was identified using the company’s proprietary small
molecule microarray (SMM) screening platform.
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-dependent solid tumors and other
transcriptionally addicted solid tumors and lanraplenib, a
next-generation SYK inhibitor, for patients with FLT3-mutated acute
myeloid leukemia. The company’s scientific focus is on developing
medicines that target the deregulated 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. The press release, in some cases,
uses terms such as “on track to,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” 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, Kronos Bio’s plans to report data
for the Phase 1/2 KB-0742 study, Kronos Bio’s plan to achieve a
recommended Phase 2 dose and report data for the Phase 1b/2 study
of lanraplenib, Kronos Bio’s expected cash runway, the promise of
KB-0742 to treat patients with transcriptionally addicted tumors,
KB-0742 being a promising agent to treat a wide variety of cancers
with high unmet need, future results that may be implied from
preliminary data, 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: whether Kronos Bio will be able to
progress its clinical trials on the timelines anticipated,
including due to risks inherent in the clinical development of
novel therapeutics; risks related to Kronos Bio’s lack of
experience as a company in conducting clinical trials; and the risk
that results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials
(including preliminary results) are not necessarily predictive of
future results. These and other risks 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 June 30, 2023,
filed with the SEC on August 8, 2023. 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.
Company Contact:Sarah Connors, Vice President
of Investor Relations and Corporate CommunicationsKronos
Bio857-290-7305sconnors@kronosbio.com
Agency Contact:Brendan Strong, Managing
DirectorArgot Partners 212-600-1902kronosbio@argotpartners.com
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