Targeting Validated Drivers of Cancer
Why We Work
We were founded with a mission to inspire hope to those battling cancer – patients, their physicians, and caregivers – by expanding on the promise of targeted therapies.
The company focuses its efforts on known oncogenic drivers where there are no approved targeted drugs, and to overcome the limitations of marketed cancer therapies, such as non-responsiveness or acquired and intrinsic resistance.
How We Discover
The Kinnate Discovery Engine starts with the identification of an unmet need among validated oncogenic drivers, uses our deep expertise in medicinal chemistry and is rapidly scalable using a tailored ecosystem of partners.
Our two lead drug candidates are exarafenib for BRAF Class II/Class III and NRAS-driven alternations, and KIN-3248 for cancers with FGFR2 and FGFR3 alterations.
Kinnate Discovery Engine
“Kinnate has assembled an experienced team of precision oncology experts who are focused on the discovery and development of precision medicines for difficult-to-treat genomically defined cancers.”
– Keith T. Flaherty, MD, Kinnate Board and SAB Member
Unmet Need in Targeted Cancer Therapeutics
Despite the advancement of precision medicine in oncology, there remains a significant unmet need for most patients with cancer for whom no approved targeted therapies exist or for which a resistance to targeted treatments has emerged.
Only 2% to 3% of people with advanced or metastatic cancer will have durable responses to currently available targeted therapeutics. In addition, only 10% of all patients with advanced or metastatic cancer are eligible for targeted therapeutics – in which a defined genomic driver is matched with a currently approved targeted therapy. Of those people, up to 50% (the responders) will respond to the therapy, while the remainder (the non-responders) gain no clinical benefit due to intrinsic resistance. Among the responders, the majority (conservatively estimated at 50% to 80%) will eventually develop acquired resistance, lose their beneficial response to therapy, and experience disease progression despite continued treatment with the targeted therapy.
How We Develop
We are developing our compounds for potential use as single-agent and in combination with other anti-cancer drugs based on a pre-specified biomarker. We continually leverage translational research capabilities to inform our development strategy, including understanding responsive subsets and resistance mechanisms. Kinnate aims to reach as many patients as possible, including in the U.S. and are expanding our global footprint, with an early focus in China, among other countries.
Based on our progress to date, with two clinical-stage programs, we believe our approach can potentially lead to new targeted therapies that support meaningfully better outcomes for people with cancer.
“There are clear drivers of disease and resistance mutations that will cause current therapies to fail. The Kinnate portfolio addresses these challenges and will potentially contribute meaningful new medicines to patient populations that would benefit from them.”
– Ryan Corcoran, MD, PhD, Kinnate SAB Member
Our Values
Who we are and how we act is rooted in our core values of being Audacious, Inclusively Ingenious, Decisive and Agile.
