A USD 50 million financing round has backed the launch of Caspian Therapeutics, a newly formed company spun out of San Diego-based Kura Oncology (Nasdaq: KURA) to pursue menin inhibition as a potential disease-modifying approach in diabetes and cardiometabolic disease. The round was led by BVF Partners, with participation from the T1D Fund, Invus, Montanova, Eli Lilly and Company, Kura itself, members of Kura's leadership team, and several biotech entrepreneurs. Kura will retain approximately half of Caspian on a fully diluted basis and hold board representation, allowing its shareholders to participate in the subsidiary's potential value while the parent company remains focused on oncology.
Proceeds are intended to advance Caspian's lead asset, KO-7246, a highly selective, orally bioavailable small-molecule menin inhibitor, through investigational new drug application (IND)-enabling studies and into an initial clinical proof-of-concept program in diabetes. The capital will also support advancement of a second menin inhibitor development candidate targeting broader cardiometabolic indications. Caspian will operate under a services arrangement with Kura, giving it access to Kura's research, development, and corporate infrastructure.
KO-7246 was specifically optimized for chronic metabolic disease rather than oncology. Menin is a scaffold protein that acts as a brake on pancreatic β-cell proliferation; inhibiting menin is intended to stimulate β-cell expansion and restore endogenous insulin production, rather than managing blood glucose through existing mechanisms. Kura said preclinical studies showed selective β-cell proliferation, increased insulin production, and durable improvements in glycemic control across multiple Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes animal models, with effects persisting after treatment was stopped. The company also reported selective β-cell effects in human pancreatic islet microtissues and organoid systems, with no proliferation of non-β cells detected. Preclinical data for KO-7246 have been selected for an oral presentation by Francis Burrows, Kura's Chief Scientific Officer, at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting on September 29, 2026.
Kura's existing clinical and regulatory experience with ziftomenib, its US FDA-approved menin inhibitor for NPM1-mutated relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, provides Caspian with a foundation in menin biology and medicinal chemistry. Robert Spencer, who previously led development of the approved opioid receptor modulator difelikefalin at Cara Therapeutics, has been named President and Chief Scientific Officer of Caspian. The company said it plans to submit an IND for KO-7246 as soon as practicable, with the initial Phase I program designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and measures of β-cell function and endogenous insulin production in patients with diabetes.
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