Caspian Therapeutics launches with $50m to target diabetes
Kura Oncology has launched Caspian Therapeutics, a separately capitalised subsidiary, to advance small-molecule menin inhibitors as potential disease-modifying treatments for diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases. The new company has closed a $50 million financing round led by BVF Partners, with participation from the T1D Fund, Invus, Montanova, Eli Lilly and Company, Kura itself, and several members of Kura's leadership team. Kura will retain approximately half of Caspian on a fully diluted basis and hold board representation.
The venture is built around KO-7246, a next-generation, orally bioavailable menin inhibitor that Kura optimised specifically for chronic metabolic disease use. Caspian plans to file an investigational new drug (IND) application as soon as practicable, with an initial Phase 1 programme intended to assess safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and measures of endogenous insulin production in patients with diabetes. The $50 million is expected to fund IND-enabling work, the Phase 1 study, and early development of a second menin inhibitor candidate for additional cardiometabolic indications.
The science
Diabetes is characterised by the loss or dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells, the cells responsible for producing insulin. Most approved therapies manage blood glucose or supplement insulin exogenously; they do not restore the body's own insulin-producing capacity. Caspian is pursuing a different hypothesis: that inhibiting menin, a scaffold protein that acts as a brake on beta-cell proliferation, can expand functional beta-cell mass and rebuild endogenous insulin production.
In preclinical work conducted at Kura, KO-7246 showed selective stimulation of beta-cell proliferation, expansion of beta-cell mass, and progressive improvements in glycaemic control across multiple animal models of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Notably, improvements persisted after treatment was stopped, which the company says is consistent with a durable increase in functional beta-cell capacity. Selective beta-cell proliferation was also observed in human pancreatic islet microtissues and organoid systems, with no proliferation detected in non-beta cells. Francis Burrows, Chief Scientific Officer of Kura, said the consistency of findings across disease models "provides a strong rationale to advance KO-7246 into clinical development." Preclinical data will be presented orally at the 62nd EASD Annual Meeting on 29 September 2026.
Market context and competitive landscape
The appointment of Robert Spencer as President and Chief Operating Officer of Caspian brings relevant regulatory and commercial pedigree: Spencer previously led the development and regulatory submissions that supported FDA approval of KORSUVA (difelikefalin) at Cara Therapeutics, and earlier held scientific leadership roles at Merck Research Laboratories.
Eli Lilly's participation in the syndicate is notable given the company's dominant position in the GLP-1 receptor agonist market, the fastest-growing category in diabetes pharmacology. Lilly's involvement signals strategic interest in beta-cell regeneration as a complementary or longer-term approach to glucose management. A number of academic groups and early-stage biotechs are exploring beta-cell regeneration through distinct mechanisms, including glucokinase activators, DYRK1A inhibitors, and cell-replacement therapies, making the space increasingly competitive. Caspian's differentiation rests on Kura's decade-long menin-inhibitor platform, which generated the FDA-approved oncology drug ziftomenib and provides an established base of clinical and regulatory experience.
The spin-out structure itself is a considered move: by ring-fencing Caspian with external capital and dedicated leadership, Kura preserves its focus on oncology while retaining meaningful upside if the diabetes hypothesis proves out in the clinic. For investors, the proof point will be whether the beta-cell expansion seen in preclinical models translates into measurable endogenous insulin production in human subjects, a question the planned Phase 1 study is designed to begin answering.