KRON - Kronos Bio: Still Promising But Riskier Following ASCO Update

2024-06-05 18:25:03 ET

Summary

• Updated data from the ongoing ph2 study of KB-0742 were disappointing, with only a single partial response. Although adverse effects are "manageable" the safety profile is far from ideal.
• Nevertheless, a high and durable disease control rate was reported in heavily pre-treated patients. Furthermore, MYC-dependent solid tumors (the focus of the next cohorts and the larger target market) were underrepresented.
• Additionally, there is convincing pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic rationale suggesting that better efficacy should be expected from the 80mg 4 days on/ 3 days off cohort.
• KRON has re-iterated a cash runway into 2H 2026, i.e., beyond major catalysts (KB-0742 readout in 1H 2025, news on Genentech collaboration by mid-2025, and likely first data from KB-0742).

Thesis update

I started covering KRON a few weeks before ASCO 2024. In that coverage, I recommended buying KRON considering a negative enterprise value, cash runway into 2026, promising drug discovery platform with Genentech collaboration, and promising pipeline (KB-0742 in phase 2 stage and KB-9558 in pre-clinical stage) with data update expected in ASCO and in 1H 2025. Unfortunately, despite preliminary signals of efficacy at the 60mg dosing cohort (including a durable partial response in a myxoid liposarcoma patient), updated results from the ongoing phase 2 study of KB-0742 (presented at ASCO ) were disappointing. Despite a manageable safety profile (importantly no Gr3/4 neutropenia) and a high disease control rate, no new responses were observed....

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