Clinical-stage precision oncology company Kinnate Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: KNTE), which has headquarters in both San Diego and San Francisco, announced financial operating results on August 12 for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. And the news was markedly upbeat.
For the quarter, the company posted a net loss of $27.1 million, compared to $21.4 million for the same period in 2021.
Research and development expenses during Q2 totaled $19.8 million, compared to $16.2 million for the same period in 2021 while general and administrative expenses for Q2 came in at $7.6 million, compared to $5.3 million in Q2 2021.
Total cash and cash equivalents and investments was $279.6 million.
“Kinnate is making meaningful progress with its proprietary clinical and preclinical precision oncology programs,” said Nima Farzan, chief executive officer, Kinnate Biopharma Inc. “We continue to exp
CEO
Kinnate Biopharma
and the global footprint of clinical trial sites for our pan-RAF inhibitor, KIN-2787, for which we expect to share initial clinical data later this year.”
“The Kinnate Discovery Engine is actively generating new research leads, and with our financial strength, we’re well positioned to invest in breakthrough science and long-term growth of the company,” Karzan added.
Strong Buy
Kinnate, which IPO’d on the NASDAQ in 2020 just two years after its founding, currently trades for around $14 a share and is down more than 20% in 2022. KNTE’s 52-week range is $7 to $26.
Rated a strong buy by all five of the Wall Street analysts who cover the company, Kinnate’s consensus price target is currently $31.25.
Analyst
William Blair
William Blair analyst Tim Lugo, who has an “outperform” rating on the stock, said Kinnate has a “potentially best-in-class platform for the development of small-molecule kinase inhibitors for precision oncology” and is set up to have multiple positive catalysts over the next few years.
Earlier this month, along with its Q2 financial results, the company also announced that KN-8701, a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate KIN-2787, was initiated in Taiwan by Kinnjiu Biopharma Inc., Kinnate’s China joint venture to develop and commercialize its most advanced kinase inhibitors in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
During the most recent quarter, Kinnate’s KIN-2787 was granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of stage IIb-IV melanoma. An ODD is granted to investigational therapies addressing rare medical diseases or conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S.
18 Active Trial Sites Globally
In Q2, Kinnate also published online abstract as part of the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting proceedings on the in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies evaluating KIN-2787 in combination with binimetinib in NRAS-mutant melanoma models.
The company said it is currently enrolling patients in the ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation portion of KN-8701 evaluating KIN-2787 at approximately 18 active trial sites, including in the U.S., Spain, France and Australia.
Initial monotherapy data is expected in the fourth quarter of 2022, and data for the binimetinib combination in the first half of 2023.
Also in Q2, the company presented the design and rationale of KN-4802, a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating KIN-3248, the company’s investigational FGFR inhibitor, at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting and began enrolling patients in the Phase 1 dose escalation portion of KN-4802, with initial clinical data for KIN-3248 expected in the second half of 2023.
During the most recent quarter, Kinnate’s workforce expanded to 82 full-time employees (as of June 30), of which 61 were engaged in research and development activities.
New additions to the company’s senior leadership team in Q2 included Robert Pelham, PhD, who joins the company as VP, Translational Medicine; and Cheng Quah, the new VP for Clinical Development.
Kinnate Biopharma Inc. is focused on developing targeted therapies for those battling cancer. The company develops medicines for known oncogenic drivers where there are no approved targeted drugs – and to overcome the limitations of so-called ‘marketed cancer therapies,’ such as non-responsiveness or acquired and intrinsic resistance.
Kinnate has two lead clinical programs being studied in solid tumors with RAF, NRAS and FGFR-driven alterations, and is rapidly progressing a pipeline of additional small molecule drug candidates as part of the Kinnate Discovery Engine.
Kinnate Biopharma
FOUNDED: 2018
CEO: Nima Farzan
EMPLOYEES: 82
REVENUE: ($27.1 million) Q2 2022
STOCK: KNTE (NASDAQ)
WEBSITE: www.kinnate.com
NOTABLE: Kinnate went public in December 2020.
