Boston, Massachusetts-based Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM) priced a USD 250 million underwritten offering on October 14, 2026, to support clinical development, including its investigational oral KRAS G12D inhibitor VS-7375. The financing coincides with updated pancreatic cancer results and plans to open a Phase III trial by year-end.
VS-7375 is designed to inhibit both the active and inactive forms of KRAS G12D, a mutation that drives tumor growth. Verastem is developing the drug across pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancers.
In a clinical update released the same day, Verastem reported confirmed responses in four of eight patients receiving VS-7375 as second-line treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in the Phase I/II TARGET-D 101 trial. Across the broader second-line-or-later population receiving 900 mg daily, nine of 22 patients responded, a confirmed objective response rate of 41%. Median follow-up was 6.4 months.
The company said it had reached agreement with the FDA on the design of a Phase III trial in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer. Registration-directed Phase II studies are already underway in pancreatic cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic colorectal cancer, including TARGET-D 203.