Caspian Therapeutics launches with $50M to develop menin inhibitors for diabetes and cardiometabolic disease
Caspian Therapeutics, a spin‑out from Kura Oncology, announced it is starting operations with $50 million in financing. The capital, led by BVF Partners and joined by Eli Lilly and Kura leadership, will fund the advancement of its lead small‑molecule menin inhibitor into an early‑phase diabetes trial and support a second candidate.
The company’s focus stems from pre‑clinical work on a leukemia drug that showed menin inhibition could also lower blood sugar in animal models. Caspian aims to translate that finding into treatments for diabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions.
Kura Oncology will retain about half of Caspian’s equity, and its CEO Troy Wilson will serve as executive chair of the new biotech’s board, linking the two firms closely as the program moves forward.
This writeup was produced by pharmadog from original reporting by STAT.
Original headline: “STAT+: Leukemia drug data suggested a different way to treat diabetes. A new biotech will test that idea”
read at STAT ↗
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