Frontier Medicines Secures $80M for KRAS Inhibitor Development, Challenges Amgen and BMS

Frontier Medicines recently closed an $80 million Series C funding round, with plans to advance its novel KRAS blocker, FMC-376. This addition brings the company's total funding to $235.5 million since its inception. The round was co-led by Deerfield Management and Droia Ventures, with additional investments from Galapagos NV, MPM Capital, RA Capital Management, and DCVC Bio.

On the same day, Frontier announced the first dosing of a patient in their Phase I/II PROSPER trial, focused on KRAS G12C-mutated cancers. CEO Chris Varma highlighted this development as a significant milestone, noting that FMC-376 aims to overcome resistance issues found in previous inhibitors.

FMC-376 works by targeting both inactive and active forms of KRAS G12C, which could potentially address the limitations of existing treatments. Lab studies demonstrated FMC-376's effectiveness across various KRAS G12C mutant cancer models, including lung, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers. Preclinical data presented in April 2023 showed that FMC-376 is significantly more effective than previous inhibitors in blocking key protein interactions, leading to rapid and lasting inhibition of KRAS G12C signaling.

This advancement positions Frontier to compete with Amgen and Mirati in the KRAS inhibitor market. Amgen's Lumakras, initially approved by the FDA in May 2021 for non-small cell lung cancer patients with the KRAS G12C mutation, faced setbacks in securing full approval. Mirati's Krazati received accelerated FDA approval in December 2022 and later a positive opinion from the European Medicine Agency. Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired Mirati for $4.8 billion, with Krazati as a key asset in the acquisition.

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