Kronos Bio Q2 2024 Financial Results and Pipeline Update

Kronos Bio, Inc., a company focused on developing small molecule therapeutics to combat cancers and other diseases driven by deregulated transcription, has recently shared its business progress and financial results for the second quarter of 2024. The company continues to make strides both in clinical settings and in expanding its pipeline.

One of the key highlights is the dosing of the first patient in the platinum-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer cohort with istisociclib (KB-0742). The company expects to provide a data update on this in the first half of 2025. Another significant development is the progress of KB-9558, a p300 lysine acetyltransferase (KAT) inhibitor, which is set to complete IND-enabling studies for multiple myeloma by the fourth quarter of 2024. Additionally, KB-9558 is now being explored for another indication in HPV-driven tumors.

Kronos Bio also announced the initiation of a novel p300 program focused on autoimmune indications, leveraging the role of IRF4 and p300 in immune cells. This program is expected to reveal updates by the end of the year.

The company's leadership team was strengthened with the appointment of Deborah Knobelman, Ph.D., as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Knobelman, who joined the company on June 3, 2024, oversees finance, accounting, business development, investor relations, and corporate strategy functions.

Istisociclib (KB-0742), a CDK9 inhibitor, has shown promising progress. The drug cleared the 80mg dose on a four-days-on, three-days-off schedule, and the first patient with platinum-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer was enrolled in July 2024. Data from this cohort is anticipated in the first half of 2025. At the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in June 2024, Kronos Bio presented updated study data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of istisociclib in relapsed or refractory transcriptionally addicted advanced solid tumors.

Regarding KB-9558, identified as a critical cofactor in the IRF4 transcription regulatory network in multiple myeloma, the drug's development is on track. The company plans to enroll the first patient in a dose escalation study for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in the first half of 2025. Additionally, data supporting the use of p300 KAT inhibition in HPV-driven tumors will be presented later this year.

Financially, Kronos Bio reported having $136.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments as of June 30, 2024. This financial position is expected to provide sufficient resources to fund operations into the second half of 2026. Research and development expenses for the second quarter of 2024 amounted to $13.8 million, including $0.8 million in non-cash stock-based compensation expenses. General and administrative expenses were $6.4 million for the same period, which included $1.4 million in non-cash stock-based compensation expenses. The company incurred an impairment of long-lived assets expense of $0.5 million and restructuring expenses of less than $0.1 million. The net loss for the second quarter of 2024 was $16.2 million, or $0.27 per share, inclusive of $2.2 million in non-cash stock-based compensation expenses.

Kronos Bio is a clinical-stage company, with a proprietary discovery engine that decodes complex transcription factor regulatory networks to identify druggable cofactors. The company screens for and optimizes small molecules targeting these cofactors in a tumor-specific context. Kronos Bio's efforts have resulted in a preclinical pipeline along with two internally developed drug candidates: istisociclib (KB-0742) for solid tumors and KB-9558 for multiple myeloma.

Based in San Mateo, California, and with a research facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Kronos Bio continues to advance its mission of developing innovative therapeutics to address cancer and other serious diseases.