Frontier Medicines Secures $80M for KRAS Drug Development, Challenges Industry Giants

Frontier Medicines recently achieved a significant milestone by securing $80 million through an oversubscribed Series C funding round. This funding will be utilized to propel the development of FMC-376, a next-generation KRAS inhibitor that shows promise in treating cancers with G12C mutations.

This latest round of funding raises Frontier's total capital to $235.5 million since its inception. The financing was led collaboratively by Deerfield Management Company and Droia Ventures. The round also saw participation from strategic investor Galapagos NV, a pharmaceutical company based in Belgium, as well as contributions from MPM Capital, RA Capital Management, and DCVC Bio.

Coinciding with the funding announcement, Frontier reported the commencement of its Phase I/II PROSPER clinical trial. This trial involves dosing the first patient with FMC-376, an experimental drug for patients having cancers driven by G12C-mutated KRAS.

Chris Varma, the company’s CEO, expressed enthusiasm, calling this a pivotal development for Frontier. He highlighted that the extensive data collected indicates that FMC-376 could surmount the resistance challenges associated with earlier single-acting inhibitors. He emphasized the potential for demonstrating these capabilities in clinical trials.

What sets FMC-376 apart is its ability to engage both inactive and active forms of the mutated KRAS G12C protein. This dual mechanism could potentially address the limitations and resistance issues faced by single-acting inhibitors.

Laboratory studies revealed that FMC-376 is effective against a variety of KRAS G12C mutant cancers, including but not limited to non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer. Preclinical data presented in April 2023 at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting showed that FMC-376 is significantly more efficient—over 1,000 times—at obstructing key effector protein interactions compared to previous KRAS inhibitors. This leads to a swift and sustained inhibition of KRAS G12C signaling.

In the competitive landscape of KRAS inhibitors, Frontier aims to challenge companies such as Amgen and Mirati. Amgen's Lumakras received accelerated FDA approval in May 2021 specifically for NSCLC patients with the KRAS G12C mutation. However, data interpretation issues related to progression-free survival from the Phase III CodeBreaK 200 trial have hindered its full approval. The FDA has requested an additional confirmatory trial, with results expected by 2028.

Similarly, Mirati's Krazati gained accelerated approval in December 2022 for the same condition and received a positive recommendation from the European Medicine Agency in November 2023. Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired Mirati for $4.8 billion in October 2023, positioning Krazati as a key asset in the acquisition.

With FMC-376, Frontier Medicines aims to advance the frontiers of cancer treatment, providing new hope and options for patients with difficult-to-treat KRAS G12C mutant cancers.