Kura’s PIPE dream

While some companies struggle to get a share price boost from clinical results, Kura yesterday rocketed 46% on the mere promise of data from a major catalyst. The company announced a $150m private funding, and said it would report results next Tuesday from the Komet-007 combination trial of its menin inhibitor ziftomenib. The assumption seems to be that Kura’s private investors might have seen – and been impressed by – the data; the company’s menin rival Syndax slid 7% yesterday. But the initial results from Komet-007, in around just 20 patients, promise to be tricky to interpret: the dose-escalation phase tests different combos in first-line and relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukaemia, and has enrolled patients with different genetic subtypes. B Riley analysts only expect to see results with the lowest ziftomenib dose, 200mg, which might make it tough to show improved efficacy over historical figures with standard of care. Kura has previously cautioned against reading too much into efficacy data, and is more focused on showing a reduction in differentiation syndrome, a troublesome side effect. Syndax has previously reported a CR/CRh rate of 85% with its project revumenib plus Venclexta and azacitidine in first-line disease, among 13 patients in the Beat AML trial.