Kura Oncology announced Tuesday the launch of Caspian Therapeutics, a separately financed subsidiary established to advance small-molecule menin inhibitors as a potential disease-modifying treatment for diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases.¹ The company has completed a $50 million financing led by BVF Partners, with participation from the T1D Fund, Invus, Montanova, Eli Lilly and Company, Kura Oncology, members of Kura's leadership team, and several biotech entrepreneurs.

The financing is designed to fund KO-7246 — a next-generation, highly selective oral menin inhibitor purpose-built for chronic metabolic disease — through IND-enabling development and initial clinical proof-of-concept in patients with diabetes.

The Science Behind the Spin-Out

Diabetes is characterized by the progressive loss or dysfunction of pancreatic β cells — the cells responsible for producing insulin. Most available therapies manage blood glucose or supplement insulin but do not address the underlying loss of β-cell capacity. Caspian's approach targets that gap directly.

Menin is a scaffold protein that acts as a brake on pancreatic β-cell proliferation. Kura's preclinical studies have shown that inhibiting menin can selectively stimulate β-cell proliferation, expand functional β-cell mass, and increase endogenous insulin production. Across multiple animal models of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, menin inhibition produced progressive improvements in insulin production and glycemic control, accompanied by measurable expansion of β-cell mass. Importantly, those improvements persisted after treatment was discontinued — consistent with a durable increase in functional β-cell capacity rather than a temporary pharmacological effect.

The company has also observed selective β-cell proliferation and improved function in human pancreatic islet microtissues and organoid systems, with no proliferation of non-β cells detected. Kura's Chief Scientific Officer Francis Burrows, Ph.D., called the consistency of findings across Type 1 and Type 2 models, combined with translation into human islet systems, "a strong rationale to advance KO-7246 into clinical development."

Preclinical data evaluating KO-7246 have been selected for oral presentation at the 62nd European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting on September 29, 2026.

Why Lilly's Participation Matters

Eli Lilly's presence in the financing syndicate is the most strategically significant element of today's announcement. Lilly's GLP-1 franchise — including Mounjaro and Zepbound — manages glucose and delivers weight loss but does not restore endogenous insulin-producing capacity. A disease-modifying therapy that selectively regenerates functional β-cell mass would complement rather than compete with that franchise. Lilly's investment in Caspian, announced weeks after the company also participated in Moonwalk Biosciences' $70 million Series B for adipose-targeted RNAi in obesity, reflects a deliberate strategy of backing non-incretin mechanisms alongside its core GLP-1 business.

The Spin-Out Structure

Caspian will operate with dedicated leadership and external capital while accessing Kura's research, development, and corporate capabilities under an intercompany services arrangement. Kura retains approximately half ownership of Caspian and board representation — allowing Kura's shareholders to participate in Caspian's potential value while Kura remains focused on its oncology strategy, including the commercialization of KOMZIFTI (ziftomenib), its FDA-approved menin inhibitor for NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia.

Robert Spencer, Ph.D., has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of Caspian. Spencer brings more than 20 years of biotechnology leadership experience, most recently as CEO of Neurommune Therapeutics and previously at Cara Therapeutics, where he led the development program supporting approval of KORSUVA.

Caspian plans to submit an IND for KO-7246 as soon as practicable. The initial clinical program will evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and measures of β-cell function and endogenous insulin production in patients with diabetes.

Source

1. Kura Oncology Launches Caspian Therapeutics with $50 Million Financing to Advance Menin Inhibition as a Potential Disease-Modifying Approach for Diabetes. Kura Oncology. September 9, 2026. https://ir.kuraoncology.com/news-releases/news-release-details/kura-oncology-launches-caspian-therapeutics-50-million-financing