Kura Oncology Q2 2026 Earnings Call - KOMZIFTI Captures Majority New Patient Starts in Second Quarter
Summary
Kura Oncology delivered a standout second quarter, with KOMZIFTI generating $9.1 million in net product revenue and securing majority share of new patient starts in the relapsed/refractory NPM1 mutant AML menin inhibitor market. This achievement is particularly notable given the company entered the market second, highlighting strong product differentiation and commercial execution. The launch momentum is accelerating, with new patient starts growing 35% quarter-over-quarter and total prescriptions surging 60%, driven by high physician confidence and robust payer coverage across 95% of lives.
Key Takeaways
- KOMZIFTI generated $9.1 million in net product revenue, significantly exceeding initial expectations for its second full quarter on the market.
- The drug captured a majority share of new patient starts in the relapsed/refractory NPM1 mutant AML menin inhibitor market, despite launching after a competitor.
- New patient starts grew 35% quarter-over-quarter, while total prescriptions (TRX) accelerated by 60%, indicating strong repeat prescribing and lack of inventory distortion.
- Physician-initiated combination use accounted for approximately 40% of new patient starts, primarily with venetoclax/azacitidine and FLT3 inhibitors, signaling early fit for broader treatment paradigms.
- Long-term data from the KOMET-007 trial showed a 96% overall response rate and 94% 12-month overall survival in frontline NPM1 mutant AML, with no added myelosuppression to chemotherapy.
- Darlifarnib demonstrated compelling activity in renal cell carcinoma, achieving a 44% objective response rate in cabozantinib-exposed patients and 33-50% in cabozantinib-naive patients.
- Darlifarnib plus adagrasib showed tumor shrinkage in 77% of response-evaluable patients with KRAS G12C mutated cancers, effectively doubling the expected response rate compared to monotherapy.
- Kura maintains $519 million in cash and short-term investments, providing sufficient runway to fund the ziftomenib AML program through the anticipated first top-line Phase III results in 2028.
- The KOMET-017 Phase III trial for frontline AML is enrolling ahead of plan, with over 200 sites active globally, driven by a convenient one-stop-shop design and strong early data.
- Management remains disciplined on capital allocation, choosing to self-fund darlifarnib development to retain control and maximize long-term value, rather than seeking early collaboration.
Full Transcript
Lenius, Conference Operator: Good day, everyone. My name is Lenius, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome you to the Kura Oncology second quarter 2026 financial results earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker’s remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, and if you’ve joined via the webinar, please use the raise hand icon, which can be found at the bottom of your webinar application. To allow everyone the opportunity to participate, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up question. If time permits, at the end of the Q&A session, we invite you to rejoin the queue for additional questions.
At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Greg Mann, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs of Kura Oncology. Please go ahead.
Greg Mann, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs, Kura Oncology: Thank you, Lenius. Good afternoon, and welcome to Kura Oncology second quarter 2026 conference call. Joining the call today are Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Dr. Mollie Leoni, Chief Medical Officer, and Tom Doyle, Senior Vice President, Finance and Accounting. We remind you that today’s discussion will include forward-looking statements based on current expectations. Such statements represent management’s judgment as of today and may involve risks and uncertainties that cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Please refer to Kura’s filings with the SEC, which are available from the SEC or on the Kura Oncology website for information concerning risk factors that could affect the company. With that, I’ll turn the call over to Troy.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thank you, Greg, and good afternoon, everyone. The second quarter marked another step forward in Kura’s evolution as a commercial stage oncology company. KOMZIFTI moved into a leadership position in relapsed refractory NPM1 mutant AML menin inhibitor market, and new clinical data further strengthened our confidence in our strategy of building two differentiated growth franchises. I’ll start with KOMZIFTI. In only our second full quarter on the market, KOMZIFTI generated $9.1 million in net product revenue, exceeding our expectations, and captured a majority of new patient starts in the relapsed refractory NPM1 mutant AML menin inhibitor market. At this stage of the launch, new patient starts are the clearest leading indicator of commercial performance. They measure which therapy physicians are choosing today, and they establish the base for future prescriptions and revenue.
Achieving majority share of new patient starts in only our second full commercial quarter, despite entering the market second, is clear evidence physicians are differentiating within the menin inhibitor class. In real-world AML practice, physicians choose therapies based on the total treatment profile, efficacy, predictable and manageable safety, dosing convenience, drug-drug interactions, and increasingly, the potential to combine with existing treatment approaches. We believe KOMZIFTI’s rapid adoption reflects the strength of that differentiated profile in the largest currently FDA-approved menin inhibitor opportunity. The monotherapy launch is only the beginning. Our objective is to establish ziftomenib as a foundational therapy across AML by combining it with multiple standards of care. The long-term frontline data we reported at EHA demonstrated that ziftomenib combines cleanly with standard therapy, deepens responses, and supports more durable outcomes. With nearly 100 patients and extended follow-up, KOMET-007 meaningfully increases our confidence in our frontline strategy.
Mollie will discuss those data in more detail. Looking ahead, we expect multiple clinical updates in the second half of the year across monotherapy, combination therapy, and multiple treatment settings. Turning to darlifarnib, we now believe we have a second wholly owned strategic asset capable of creating significant value independent of our menin inhibitor franchise. Across cabozantinib exposed and cabozantinib-naive renal cell carcinoma, as well as in KRAS G12C mutated solid tumors, we’ve generated clinical evidence that darlifarnib has the potential to enhance the activity of targeted therapy backbones through a common biological mechanism while maintaining a manageable safety profile. Our strategy is straightforward. Pair darlifarnib with established and emerging targeted therapies, allowing us to advance the program efficiently while preserving opportunities for future strategic collaboration. Stepping back, Kura is substantially stronger than it was even just one quarter ago.
We have established commercial leadership in new patient starts in relapsed refractory NPM1 mutant AML. We have built one of the most mature and robust frontline menin inhibitor data sets in AML. We’ve advanced a wholly owned precision oncology platform beyond menin inhibition, and we’ve maintained the financial strength to execute through multiple value-creating milestones. Together, these assets position us to create value through commercial execution, pipeline expansion, and disciplined capital deployment. With that, I’ll turn it over to Brian.
Greg Mann, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs, Kura Oncology: Thanks, Troy. In the second quarter, KOMZIFTI generated $9.1 million in net product revenue with approximately 115 new patient starts and more than 250 total prescriptions. Based on current prescription data, KOMZIFTI captured a majority share of new patient starts in the relapsed refractory NPM1 mutant AML menin inhibitor market in only its second full quarter of launch. That’s the headline for the quarter. New patient starts are the clearest indicator of physician choice today and one of the strongest predictors of future commercial performance.
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: The quality of the launch is evidenced across multiple metrics. Repeat prescribing continued to increase, adoption expanded across both academic and community treatment centers, and new accounts continued to initiate menin inhibitor therapy with KOMZIFTI. Physician-initiated combination use with venetoclax and azacitidine and with FLT3 inhibitors in co-mutated patients represented approximately 40% of new patient starts. With more than 95% of covered lives and no label restrictions, physicians are confident to prescribe the therapy they believe is best for their patients. Physicians are increasingly choosing KOMZIFTI because of its differentiated profile, and we believe that profile is driving adoption. Our focus is simple: win every eligible patient. Every new patient creates the opportunity for repeat prescriptions and revenue. Our field force continues to execute at a high level, delivering consistent engagement with primary AML prescribers nationwide.
We maintain engagement with more than 90% of our top priority AML accounts during the quarter, while increasing the frequency of interactions with high-value treatment centers. Despite being second to market, KOMZIFTI achieved majority share of new patients in only its second full commercial quarter. This is uncommon in oncology. We believe it reflects meaningful product differentiation, growing physician adoption of KOMZIFTI, and exceptional commercial execution. Although we promote KOMZIFTI only for its approved monotherapy indication, physician-initiated combination use provides an early signal that clinicians see the product fitting naturally into future treatment paradigms. We view the prescribing behavior as evidence of practical fit, which is strategically important as ziftomenib advances into FLT3-mutated disease and newly diagnosed AML, where combination therapies will define the largest opportunities.
We believe the confidence physicians are showing today can extend KOMZIFTI’s leadership into earlier lines and additional patient populations, ultimately positioning ziftomenib as a foundational therapy across AML. For the balance of the year, our priorities are clear. Maintain leadership within the relapsed/refractory NPM1-mutant AML menin inhibitor market. Continue to expand physician adoption by reinforcing the product attributes that physicians value most, and deliver consistent quarter-over-quarter growth in new patient starts, total prescriptions, and revenue. Our objective is straightforward. Establish KOMZIFTI as the leading menin inhibitor today while building physician, payer, and patient confidence to become a cornerstone therapy across AML tomorrow. With that, I’ll turn the call over to Mollie.
Dr. Mollie Leoni, Chief Medical Officer, Kura Oncology: Thank you, Brian. The second quarter strengthened both of our precision oncology franchises. For ziftomenib, new clinical data increased our confidence in its potential to become a foundational therapy across AML. For darlifarnib, the data continued to support its potential as a broad and differentiated combination platform in solid tumors. I’ll begin with ziftomenib. Just before EHA, peer-reviewed results from the KOMET-007 relapsed/refractory ziftomenib plus venetoclax and azacitidine study were published in Blood. The regimen demonstrated meaningful activity in a heavily pretreated population, including patients previously treated with venetoclax. Impressively, among venetoclax-naive patients, the overall response rate was 87%, the CR/CRi rate was 70%, and median overall survival was not reached as of almost 11 months follow-up. Turning to EHA, we presented long-term results from KOMET-007, evaluating ziftomenib plus 7+3 in 99 patients with newly diagnosed NPM1 mutant and/or KMT2A rearranged AML.
Remission rates were high, responses were deep, with a 96% ORR in relapsed/refractory NPM1 mutant AML. At 12 months, overall survival was 94%, and median overall survival had not been reached after a median follow-up of 17.6 months. These results compare favorably with historical 12-month overall survival of 70%-80% in younger fit patients and 45%-55% in older adults who receive intensive chemotherapy alone. Importantly, ziftomenib did not appear to add any meaningful myelosuppression to intensive chemotherapy. To our knowledge, this remains the largest frontline intensive chemotherapy dataset reported for any menin inhibitor, making it a key indicator of the potential for the phase III KOMET-017 program. Continuing to enhance that data pool, the pivotal trial KOMET-017, our one-stop shop design continues to accrue across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
We continue to expect to report top-line results for our intensive chemo ziftomenib trial in 2028, and our clinical data and operational execution gives us the confidence that we are well-positioned to lead in frontline AML. Our FLT3 combination program is also advancing. We expect preliminary clinical data later this year from ziftomenib plus gilteritinib in relapsed/refractory NPM1 and FLT3-mutated patients. In the second half of 2026, we also expect to provide combination data with 7+3 plus quizartinib. Additionally, there will be other updates, including long-term venetoclax data and an exploratory analysis evaluating ziftomenib activity in additional non-NPM1, non-KMT2A rearranged menin-dependent AML subtypes. Taken together, these studies aim to demonstrate ziftomenib’s potential to combine effectively across multiple treatment approaches while maintaining the safety profile needed for long-term use in both relapsed and frontline AML. Turning to darlifarnib, our second major strategic asset.
Starting with renal cell carcinoma, we have reported powerful data in both cabozantinib-exposed and cabozantinib-naive patients. In the cabozantinib-exposed setting, darlifarnib plus cabozantinib demonstrated a 44% objective response rate and a 94% disease control rate. Expected response rates in this patient population would be approximately 17%-22%. The ability to generate responses when cabozantinib had previously failed provides compelling clinical proof of mechanism. The data in cabozantinib-naive patients was even more encouraging. In 34 patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma, objective response rates ranged from 33%-50% across dose levels, with a median progression-free survival of 13 months. For context, historical response rates in this setting range from 18%-40%, with median progression-free survival of approximately 6-11 months. The safety profile of the combination was manageable across doses tested.
These data informed the dose combinations being evaluated in the randomized phase I-B portion of FIT-001, which is comparing darlifarnib plus cabozantinib with cabozantinib alone in cabozantinib-naive clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The study is designed to select a recommended dose and inform a potential registrational strategy. We expect enrollment to complete in the first half of 2027, with initial data in the second half of the year. In addition, at ASCO, first-in-human data with darlifarnib plus adagrasib demonstrated tumor shrinkage in 77% of response-evaluable patients with KRAS G12C mutated cancers. Activity was observed across tumor types and dose levels, resulting in an approximate doubling of the response rate expected with monotherapy adagrasib. This combination was also well-tolerated.
These results in both Cabo and adagrasib combinations consistently and independently tell the story of darlifarnib’s proposed mechanism of enhancing a targeted therapy backbone via a tolerable method of MAP kinase pathway inhibition. We plan to initiate our darlifarnib platform study evaluating darlifarnib plus daraxonrasib in second-line or later KRAS-mutant pancreatic cancer in the first half of 2027. Our priorities remain clear: execute our registrational studies, generate high-quality practice and forming clinical data, and continue building two differentiated precision oncology franchises. I’ll now turn the call over to Tom to discuss our second quarter financial results.
Tom Doyle, Senior Vice President, Finance and Accounting, Kura Oncology: Thank you, Molly. I’m happy to provide a brief overview of our financial results for the second quarter of 2026. Our net product revenue from KOMZIFTI sales was $9.1 million, compared to none for the second quarter of 2025. Collaboration revenue from our Kyowa Kirin partnership was $11.8 million, compared to $15.3 million for the same period in 2025. Research and development expenses were $61.9 million, compared to $62.8 million for the second quarter of 2025. Selling, general, and administrative expenses were $31.8 million, compared to $25.2 million for the second quarter of 2025. Net loss for the second quarter of 2026 was $68.3 million, compared to a net loss of $66.1 million for the second quarter of 2025.
This includes non-cash share-based compensation expense of $8.2 million, compared to $6.9 million for the same period in 2025. As of June 30, 2026, Kura had cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $519 million, compared to $667.2 million as of December 31, 2025. We are maintaining our previously communicated guidance for collaboration revenue. We expect this to be $45 million-$55 million in 2026, $90 million-$110 million in 2027, and $90 million-$110 million in 2028. This revenue reflects non-cash based accounting recognition of performance obligations under our collaboration agreement with Kyowa Kirin.
Our current cash equivalents, and short-term investments as of June 30, together with anticipated payments of $180 million under our collaboration agreement with Kyowa Kirin, are expected to fund our ziftomenib AML program through the first top-line phase III results from KOMET-017 anticipated in 2028. With that, I’ll turn the call back over to Troy.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thank you, Tom. The second quarter demonstrates Kura is converting product differentiation into commercial leadership. KOMZIFTI is winning new patient starts in adult relapsed and refractory NPM1 mutant AML, while our clinical programs continue to expand ziftomenib toward the much larger frontline opportunity. At the same time, darlifarnib is emerging as a potentially differentiated precision combination platform with broad applicability across solid tumors. Together, these programs give us multiple independent drivers of long-term value creation, backed by the capital and execution to realize those opportunities. With that, Lenius, we are ready to take questions.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. We will now move to our question-and-answer session. If you have joined via the webinar, please use the raise hand icon, which can be found at the bottom of your webinar application. When you are called on, please unmute your line and ask your question. We will now pause a moment to assemble the queue. Again, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up question. You are welcome to reenter the queue for any additional follow-up questions.
Your first question comes from the line of Jason Zemansky with Bank of America. Please unmute and ask your question.
Jason Zemansky, Analyst, Bank of America: Good afternoon. Congratulations on the great quarter, and thanks so much for taking our question. Two quick from me. Regarding the 115 new patient starts, can you help us separate how much of the sequential increase reflected growth in overall menin class penetration versus share gains from your competitor? Secondarily, can you help us understand the emerging relationship among starts, refills, and recognized revenue, including any inventory or gross to net effects in the quarter? Thanks so much.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thanks, Jason. I will ask Brian Powl to take each of those questions in turn.
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure. Thanks, Jason, for the questions. As we have said, we are very pleased with that sequential growth quarter-over-quarter. I think what that represents, as we said, is continued execution on the team to penetrate into new accounts and extend for new patients. Our goal is to become the majority share, the majority market leader in this space, and this indication of new patient starts leading in only the second quarter summarizes that. I think what that shows is we are both taking share from competitors, but also having the opportunity to grow the market. To your second question around refills and dynamic growing that forward, I think what you can see is in the results that we have shared, going from our first full quarter of launch into this second quarter, we demonstrated quarter-on-quarter growth of the new patient starts of about 35%.
The TRX growth is actually about 60% growth quarter-over-quarter. So we are seeing repeat prescriptions, we are seeing new prescriptions, and I think we are able to see continued good growth. There has not really been any inventory or stocking one-time events that really have contributed to that. The story is really growth here.
Jason Zemansky, Analyst, Bank of America: Great. Thanks for the color.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thanks, Jason.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Li Watsek with Cantor Fitzgerald. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Li Watsek, Analyst, Cantor Fitzgerald: Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. Just curious, how do you expect KOMZIFTI’s market leadership to evolve over time, and how much of that do you think is driven by combo use?
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Brian, want to take this?
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure. Thanks for that, Li. I think that as we’ve said when we first launched, we said that we have a differentiated product profile that we think will be preferential for physicians. We expected that we would deliver quarter-on-quarter growth throughout the year as well as becoming the market leader in the menin space in the NPM1 mutant population. We’ve achieved that market leadership, as we’ve shared here, based on new patient starts already in the second quarter. With the growth in TRX, the growth in revenue, we think is all signs are, arrows are green. They’re turning in the direction of growth here. We think momentum is on our side to continue to evolve that. I know we’ve been asked questions around duration. Duration is something that will come over time, and that’s something we’ll be seeing as we continue to grow.
The focus is getting every new patient, have the opportunity to get them on KOMZIFTI, and that’s what we’ve achieved so far. We continue to execute on that will enable us to get to that overall market leadership.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: What about combination use?
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. For combination use, yes, your question there. As we shared in the remarks, we have approximately 40% use in combination. That’s consistent with where we were last quarter, where we had an obviously lower volume. So we’re seeing that usage in combination growing. Obviously, the team is focused on promoting on-label, but physicians see the choice and are looking to find ways to combine. We think that’s a real growth opportunity for KOMZIFTI in the relapse refractory space because of the data that Mollie mentioned about the publication in Blood. We’ll be presenting new data in combination with FLT3 inhibitors, which as you know, is approximately half of the NPM1 mutated market is co-mutated. So we’ll be able to continue to develop that. We are seeing, as we said, a split of both venetoclax combinations as well as FLT3 currently.
We think we’re well positioned to continue the data generation that will support physicians’ choices to use KOMZIFTI.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Asthika Goonewardene with Leerink Partners. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Asthika Goonewardene, Analyst, Leerink Partners: Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my question, and also my congrats for the growth this quarter. Just got a couple quick hits on the importer dynamics here. Could you maybe tell us a little bit about what your tier 2 or preferred coverage was for KOMZIFTI? I’m sorry, can you hear me okay?
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Yes.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yes. Go ahead, Asthika.
Asthika Goonewardene, Analyst, Leerink Partners: Oh, yeah. Sorry. The question was, can you tell us about your tier 2 or your preferred coverage of KOMZIFTI? For patients requiring a prior authorization, what proportion of those prior authorizations were converted? Then I have a quick follow-up.
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure. Thanks, Asthika, for the questions. Yeah, so didn’t go into too much detail about our market access coverage, but I think it represents the continued success of the story. We have over 95% of lives now covered, and we have approximately 16 million lives are actually covered with a preferred status where patients have to step through KOMZIFTI before receiving other menin inhibitors. I think what that translates into is the growth that we’re seeing. Prior authorizations, it’s a standard, I think, mechanism in oncology. I think what’s been very important for us is we have not seen any challenges for physicians to be able to access the KOMZIFTI for their patients. I think that’s reflected in the growth we’ve seen quarter-over-quarter.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Asthika, did-
Asthika Goonewardene, Analyst, Leerink Partners: Okay. Then the
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah, go ahead. You said-
Asthika Goonewardene, Analyst, Leerink Partners: Sorry, go ahead.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: You had a quick follow-up.
Asthika Goonewardene, Analyst, Leerink Partners: Yeah. It’s just on KOMET-017. It looks like on clinical trials I’ve got that you have all the sites active. Can you tell us when you expect to complete enrollment in the intensive chemo arm? Thanks, guys.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Mollie, would you like to take Asthika’s question about KOMET-017?
Dr. Mollie Leoni, Chief Medical Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure. Just to be clear, we’ll have over 200 sites when all sites are active, so we’re still in the process of activating them. Really things have been going extremely well, so our guidance towards first data update and readout in 2028 remains fully on track.
Asthika Goonewardene, Analyst, Leerink Partners: Got it. Thank you, guys.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thanks. Thank you.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Roger Song with Jefferies. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Nabil, Analyst, Jefferies: Hey, team. Thanks for the updates. Congrats on the launch progress so far. This is Nabil on for Roger. One from us. On KOMET-017, you mentioned the enrollment is running ahead of plan. Curious what is driving that, and how are you thinking about the value of being first to build that frontline data set in this class? Thank you.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Molly?
Dr. Mollie Leoni, Chief Medical Officer, Kura Oncology: Well, ultimately, there are a few different factors, but 017 is successful because the design is actually so incredibly convenient for sites to use and for prescribers to put their patients on. Having both studies for intensive and non-intensive chemotherapy within the same trial so that you do one round of bureaucratic startup activities and operational activities really does make a difference, and it makes it easy for any patient with a menin inhibitor-dependent disease to have a place to go as soon as they walk into their physician’s office. Beyond that, the 007 data, the phase I data that we continue to present at various conferences really just bolsters everyone’s excitement. These patients are doing very well. The addition of a menin inhibitor seems to not add any toxicity and probably is adding a good deal of benefit.
I think it is all around excitement over the data we are showing and the structure of the trial that these patients are able to enroll in.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thanks, Nabil.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Charles Zhu with LifeSci Capital. Please unmute and ask your question.
Peter Green, Analyst, LifeSci Capital: Hi, this is Peter Green on for Charles. Just actually a quick question on FTIs. It sounds like early or first half of 2027, launching a platform trial combining darlifarnib with daraxonrasib you’ve committed to in PDAC. I’m wondering if your thinking has changed on potential other combinations. For example, we had talked about colorectal cancer with EGFR and G12D, and we’re also seeing other combinations with RAS, such as TRMT5, gaining in the competitive landscape. Just curious what your thoughts are there. Thanks.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. Thanks, Peter. Mollie, do you want to-
Dr. Mollie Leoni, Chief Medical Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: you want to comment and-
Dr. Mollie Leoni, Chief Medical Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure. That’s a very good question. So daraxonrasib will be our first in the platform design, but the reason we did the platform design is so that we can explore all of these other combinations that make a lot of sense for patients and scientifically in parallel. The daraxonrasib will be the first, but absolutely be looking for additional combinations in other indications and with other drugs.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. Peter, just to add to Mollie’s comment, we see an opportunity to combine with daraxonrasib in second line PDAC. A lot of companies look to be steering into the front line. Perhaps trying to get there before a potential approval or maybe not to have to go head to head to be able to go against chemo. In our view, if we can replicate with daraxonrasib what we’ve seen with adagrasib, we think we can add clinical value to those second-line-plus patients. And hats off to the Revolution Medicines team for what they’ve brought to patients. But I think it now gives us a platform on which to build through combinations, and you’ve mentioned some of them. We’re really looking, as Mollie said, to be selective. We can’t do everything, right?
We have a number of combinations under consideration, some of which require cooperative groups with other parties. And we’ll provide more detail as it’s appropriate.
Peter Green, Analyst, LifeSci Capital: Thanks. Just a quick follow-up. Are there funds currently earmarked for this trial, and what are the expected costs?
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah, there are funds, Peter. We haven’t broken out the specific expense. At this point, we would plan for the phase I-A. You want to confirm that you have adequate safety and tolerability. If that looks good, then we’ll reassess. We are at a point, you can probably hear it in the call, where we have a wealth of opportunities that we could invest in. We’re going to continue to be very focused in our capital allocation. We think we now have leadership in at least in new patient starts, we think soon in the other metrics with zifto. We want to position darlifarnib similarly. All good things in time. We’re fortunate with darlifarnib that this is still early development. So, we’re not talking about huge dollars relative to, for example, registration enabling studies.
Peter Green, Analyst, LifeSci Capital: Thank you.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Your next question will come from the line of Salim Syed with Mizuho. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Salim Syed, Analyst, Mizuho: Great. Congrats on the quarter, guys. Thanks for the question. I’ll try to get you back on track with the single question rule here.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah.
Salim Syed, Analyst, Mizuho: Appreciate it. So Troy, you guys are saying in the press release here, majority share of new patient starts for relapsed/refractory NPM1. Syndax is also saying 60% or two-thirds of the NPM1 business is what they’re seeing on their side. Obviously, both of these can’t be true. So I’m just wondering, where is it in the data that there’s this confusion that both parties can claim majority share of new patient starts here?
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah, Salim. So thanks for the question. Actually, as the operator indicated, we are allowing people to ask one follow-up, so feel free to ask a follow-up. Let me dispel the confusion. We’ve said we have 115 new patient starts. We’re reading both us and the competitor off of claims data. They had 250 new patient starts for the quarter and said approximately 40% of them were NPM1. So by my math, that’s 100. That’s a 25% decline in new patient starts quarter-over-quarter, whereas we’re growing 35% quarter-over-quarter. They do have the KMT2A business. We want to be very clear. We’re talking only about NPM1. We’re only speaking to NPM1. NPM1, ultimately, as you well know, is the much larger opportunity, that includes potentially FLT3 and as we go out to the frontline.
Not to take anything away from the KMT2A market, but that’s 5% of AML. So I think you have to be clear about what question are we asking exactly. Back to something Brian said, Salim, whether it’s NPS, whether it’s TRX, whether it’s net revenue, they’re all growing. They’re all strongly growing. I think that’s a good sign.
Salim Syed, Analyst, Mizuho: Okay. All right. Thanks so much, Troy. Appreciate it.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. Happy to.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Your next question will come from the line of Phil Nadeau with TD Cowen. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Phil Nadeau, Analyst, TD Cowen: Good afternoon. Thanks for taking our question as well. Now that you’ve had several quarters of commercial experience, we’re curious whether there’s been any differences in the commercial experience with KOMZIFTI versus what was seen in the clinical trials. Anything notable that physicians are pointing to? That’s the first question. Then just to follow up on the FLT3 combo data that we’re going to see later this year. Can you give us some sense what you’re hoping to see from that data and what next steps could be? Thank you.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure. Thanks, Phil, for the two questions. Brian, do you want to take the question on, are we seeing things differently in the market versus maybe
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: For what we’d seen
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: yeah, versus the clinical experience?
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Absolutely. Yeah, thanks for that question, Phil, and I’m happy to just give a little bit of color there. But, with the patients that have been coming on to our studies, it’s still a little bit early to see, to measure outcomes, as you know. But we’ve seen the uptake has been really supportive of the differentiation of KOMZIFTI as a new menin inhibitor in the market. The profile of the efficacy, safety, compatibility with other agents, and the simplicity are what’s leading to the increase in prescriptions, leading to the physician choice, and our team is executing, clearly, in order to get that. I think as we continue to follow, we’ll be tracking the duration story over time and getting an understanding of outcomes.
But I think one indicator is that the combination use that we outlined shows you that physicians are very interested in using these therapies in combination. We were able to get the Blood publication out quickly based on the feedback from physicians who really wanted to ensure they had the data available for them to make those decisions. So we’ll continue to follow, and we’ll over time be able to present that, but we’re seeing consistency, I think, in the responses and the outline that we’ve gotten from the clinical data.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: And speaking of combinations, Mollie, do you want to speak to what to expect from FLT3 and maybe thoughts around potential next steps?
Dr. Mollie Leoni, Chief Medical Officer, Kura Oncology: Absolutely. So with regards to the FLT3 data that we’re going to show you, both the combination, the relapse refractory setting with gilteritinib, as well as in the frontline setting, the quadruplet with quizartinib, the first, second, and third things you should be looking for is safety and the ability to combine. So the fact that we’re actually able to show you these data, show you safe combinations, show you safe dose escalation, should be really important, because as we’ve always said, AML is a combination game. It requires these combinations in order to successfully treat patients. So really you should be looking to see the safety and tolerability. But obviously we’ll also be showing you the associated efficacy. Some is evolving at this time. The quizartinib trial is still rather new, but it’s enrolling so quickly, we wanted to share data with you as soon as we could.
And we’ll continue to update as everything evolves. For next steps, I think that that will be a topic that will be covered actually when we present the data.
Phil Nadeau, Analyst, TD Cowen: That’s very helpful. Thank you.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thanks, Phil, for the question.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please use the raise hand icon, which can be found at the bottom of your webinar application. We ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up question. Your next question comes from the line of Etzer Darout with Barclays. Please unmute and ask your question.
Etzer Darout, Analyst, Barclays: Great. Thanks for taking a question. Can you guys hear me okay?
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yes, Etzer, we can hear you.
Etzer Darout, Analyst, Barclays: Great. Thank you. Just a question, I guess a little bit of a follow-up related question to the earlier questions around real world versus clinical use. Wondering more around the combination use that you’ve noted the 40%. How much of that is in that relapse refractory NPM1 patient, basically the on-label indication versus maybe even earlier line use or uses just in patient populations beyond what’s currently on the label. Anything there would be helpful. Thank you.
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. Thanks, Etzer, for that. The data that we reported is primarily in this relapse refractory, in the population. It’s not our indication, but in that population. Our goal is because we have KOMET-017 enrolling, I think we want to get any of those newly diagnosed patients to be put on those trials. But a lot of the dynamic that we’ve seen is that patients who are immediately refractory to frontline therapy may be preferentially treated in combination, and that’s what I think physicians are using. There’s not really a big story in terms of dynamic outside of the population that we’re treating.
Etzer Darout, Analyst, Barclays: Thank you.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thanks, Etzer.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Reni Benjamin with Citizens. Please unmute and ask your question.
Reni Benjamin, Analyst, Citizens: Great. Thanks for taking the questions and congrats on the quarter. I guess, Troy, I’d love to understand a little bit more about the rationale behind the evaluation of zifto in these MEIS1 AML patients that are not NPM1 or KMT2A. How important is this in terms of market potential, or is this just a nice to have? As a follow-up, on the heels of the TCRs and ASCO data and Tom’s comments about the cash on hand to fund the zifto readouts, can you talk about what might be the best strategy to fund the darlifarnib franchise, and what might be the best sort of collaboration structures that you’d be looking at? Thanks.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. Thanks, Ren. Two very different questions. Let me ask Mollie. Just a reminder for everyone, back when we were doing dose escalation, we did see activity, including the CR in a SETD2/RUNX1 patient. That was an important marker. But Mollie, maybe you can speak a little bit to the rationale for that study. Obviously we can’t go under the abstract, but Mollie, maybe you could speak to Ren’s first question, and I’ll take the second.
Dr. Mollie Leoni, Chief Medical Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. What you said is extraordinarily important. When we did the phase I-A dose escalation, we saw activity outside of the places where you’d expect, quote unquote, to see it. From what we know from data that has been generated previously, up to 50% of AML probably has at least some form of MEIS1 expression high, meaning that it would probably be responsive to menin inhibition. This is huge. If we can show you additional patient populations besides the NPM1 and the KMT2A, we really do think that we would be able to help up to 50% of AML patients. We’ll show you the data as to why we believe that.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Ren, to your second question, just very quickly. At this point, our goal is to establish a registrational path in solid tumors for darlifarnib that provides meaningful clinical value and is differentiated from the competition. We think there’s an opportunity in advanced renal cell carcinoma. Mollie spoke to that with her prepared comments.
We think there’s an opportunity on top of daraxonrasib. Anything else, I think we have to be very thoughtful. We could make darlifarnib available to others. That would be an easy way to sort of expand the playing field. Importantly, as we think about this, what you are picking up on now strategically is these two programs work together. As we’re moving toward initial top-line results for ziftomenib in frontline AML in 2028, that jives very nicely with the timing when you’d be making investment decisions for darlifarnib to be able to move it into a registrational setting. That’s important in terms of building value for patients and shareholders. It’s also interesting from a strategic perspective, because now you have two potential blockbusters, one of which has hopefully a positive frontline data set, one or more, and then a second one that’s coming up behind you.
As we indicated, the opportunity in renal cell and PDAC, either of those is on the same order as all of AML, right. I think we’re really in a good position to have now two programs that are relatively close in time. You see we’re being very, very disciplined with our spend. Our R&D expense actually ticked down just slightly from last year. We’re going to continue to be very responsible stewards of capital, and look to create value for shareholders.
Reni Benjamin, Analyst, Citizens: Got it. The funds on hand can get you to those registrational studies, and then the timing will work out right with the zifto readout and moving this on to registrational studies.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah, let me put it this way, Ren. Let me say it slightly differently. We look at all the options all the time. Personally, I do not know that doing a strategic collaboration on darlifarnib would necessarily be the right thing to do at this stage. There is a lot of value there, particularly if folks remember, we have what we believe will be the market-leading menin inhibitor throughout the AML treatment continuum, and we have cited a $7 billion TAM. Look at our frontline data. That is a very reasonable TAM. We are the senior party in that collaboration. We book all U.S. sales, we control global development, we control U.S. commercial. Now, Ren, you have a second asset sort of sliding in behind it. That is a pretty nice setup in terms of building value. That is the way we think about it.
Reni Benjamin, Analyst, Citizens: Excellent. Thanks for taking the questions.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Your next question comes from the line of David Dai with UBS. Please unmute and ask your question.
David Dai, Analyst, UBS: Great. Thanks for taking my questions. I also want to congrats on this great quarter. Just a quick question from me on the zifto and FLT3 combo. I am just wondering how large do you believe this FLT3 and NPM1 co-mutated population could ultimately become within the broader zifto franchise? I think you mentioned that there is 50% of the AML patients have the FLT3 NPM1 co-mutation. But could you help us understand how big the market is in dollar amount?
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah, maybe I could take that, David. Just maybe take half a step back. Just so everybody is clear, half of your NPM1 incident population has a co-mutation in FLT3. If you really want to drive the greatest clinical benefit for patients, just as Mollie said, you are going to want to go to combinations. We know that is the future. Then there is another equally sized population. FLT3 is 30% of AML. Half of that, or 15%, is overlapping with NPM1. The other half, David, are either NPM1 wild type or have other mutations. To Mollie’s point, I think it is reasonable to believe that a menin inhibitor certainly would be active in the co-mutated population. It may even be active in the NPM1 wild type. Let us stay tuned. We have said consistently, we see an opportunity to treat 50%, maybe more, of AML patients throughout the treatment continuum.
When we go to that frontline setting, David, of right now we have put a $7 billion TAM on it, $3 billion projected peak sales for us, all approvals, FLT3 is a portion of that. The big ones right now are KMT2A, NPM1, and let us see the FLT3 data, as Mollie said, a little later this year. Hopefully, that clarifies, is the answer you are looking for.
David Dai, Analyst, UBS: Yeah, great. Thank you so much.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. As another reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please use the raise hand feature at the bottom of your webinar application. Our next question comes from the line of Daniel Brims at Lake Street. Please unmute your line and ask your question.
Daniel Brims, Analyst, Lake Street: Thanks. Great quarter, guys. Just a quick question about what you’re seeing as far as some kind of switching dynamic between the menin inhibitors. Obviously, it sounds like you guys can combine much more easily than your competitor. So just wondering if you’re seeing patients starting there and then switching over to zifto as docs want to have better safety profile or be able to combine it with other things.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. Thanks, Daniel. Brian, you want to take Daniel’s question?
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Sure. Thanks, Daniel, for that. Yeah. There is certainly a dynamic of switching. I think there are some physicians who see an opportunity to shift to KOMZIFTI. Our goal is to obviously optimize the benefit for every patient. We’re looking to both grow the market and take share from other products in this space. I think what we’re showing you is that we’re doing both. By getting to this majority share of the new patient starts within our second full quarter, shows that we’re able to get patients not just who may have been on other therapy, but we’re bringing in new patients. As the new patient flow comes forward, we’re very happy to see the physicians are choosing KOMZIFTI based on all the things that I’ve outlined, our profile, their choice, and the opportunity for things like the combinations as well.
I think it’s going to be a dynamic that will continue to evolve in this space. Thank you for that question.
Daniel Brims, Analyst, Lake Street: Thanks, guys. Great work.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thanks. Thanks, Daniel.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. Your final question of today comes from the line of Peter Green at LifeSci Capital. Please unmute your line and ask a question.
Peter Green, Analyst, LifeSci Capital: Yeah. Hello again. Thanks for taking the additional question. Just wondering if you could contrast the sales force experience at sites familiar with ziftomenib, perhaps they have had trials or investigators there, versus sites that are unfamiliar with ziftomenib, and what proportion of prescriptions are coming from trial investigators. Thanks.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah. Peter, thanks actually for getting back in the queue and asking an additional question. I am going to turn it over to Brian for just a second, but let me just comment. There isn’t any one thing, right? The good news is the team is executing. Everything is going in the right direction. We were hopeful this was what we would see. I have to give great credit to Brian and his team. The physician engagement, the preferences we are seeing, the commercial execution is really top-notch. Brian, you want to speak to any differences between people who haven’t worked with it and
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Yeah
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: those who have.
Brian Powl, Chief Commercial Officer, Kura Oncology: Of course. Thanks, Peter. Thanks, Troy, for the accolades to a great team. The team, as you said, has been executing even better than we could have expected. They are very experienced. They know a lot of these accounts because of their experience in hematology. I would say that we are very pleased with where we are going, but we also haven’t said that we penetrated every account. There’s opportunity for growth, and we will continue to see that opportunity. There are, of course, some sites that are more early adopters, those who’ve had experience. Others are, as I’ve said, coming from experience with other menin inhibitors on other clinical trials, but then also those who haven’t really had experience with menin inhibitors. I think that the discussion with each of those groups may be slightly different than each other.
We have a great team that is able to engage and experience that. We are seeing growth everywhere. I think that is what has been encouraging for us, and we are encouraged to see that momentum continue.
Lenius, Conference Operator: Thank you. There are no more questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call over to Troy Wilson for closing remarks.
Dr. Troy Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kura Oncology: Thank you, Lenius. I want to thank you all once again, and in particular, I want to call out not only Mike’s team, everybody at Kura, but also the physicians and the care teams. At the end of the day, what we are trying to do is help patients, and I could not be more proud. The team is making just tremendous progress. You hear it from the commercial setting, relapsed refractory, to the frontline execution, to the data that you will see later this year. It is really just everybody working together on behalf of patients. We appreciate your interest. We appreciate your questions. We are going to be attending multiple conferences in September, and we look forward to seeing many of you there. In the meantime, if you have questions, you know how to find us. Please reach out to Greg or me. Thank you all, and have a good evening.