Kinnate Biopharma is developing targeted oncology product candidates. The company raised a $35 million Series A financing to fund a joint venture in China. The financing was led by OrbiMed Asia Partners, with participation from OrbiMed Private Investments and Foresite Capital. Kinnate will be the majority shareholder in the joint venture and appointed Wenn Sun, Ph.D., as the joint venture’s Executive Chair. The company intends to use the funds to form a China joint venture to develop its oncology drugs in Greater China. The effort is aimed at enabling the potential development and commercialization of certain Kinnate targeted oncology product candidates in that region. Kinnate Biopharma is focused on the discovery and development of small molecule kinase inhibitors targeting difficult-to-treat, genomically-defined cancers. The company leverages its Kinnate Discovery Engine—structure-based drug discovery, translational research, and patient-driven precision medicine—to build a wholly owned kinase inhibitor portfolio. Its lead preclinical programs include small molecules against specific classes of BRAF kinase mutations (Class II and Class III) and FGFR2/FGFR3 alterations designed to overcome resistance to existing therapies. Kinnate is collaborating with precision medicine centers including Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center to advance its programs. The company raised $98 million in a Series C financing to fund advancement of at least one lead product candidate into clinical development in the first half of next year. Headquartered in San Diego, Kinnate emphasizes expanding targeted therapeutics for underserved patient populations. Kinnate Biopharma focuses on the discovery and development of selective small-molecule kinase inhibitors targeting genomically defined cancer vulnerabilities. The company has built a broad portfolio of programs aimed at addressing substantial patient populations and resistance mechanisms. Kinnate plans to use new funding to advance several development candidates from existing programs into the clinic and to fund new research efforts. The company also intends to expand its team of oncology drug developers at its headquarters in San Diego. Kinnate emphasizes delivering best-in-class and first-in-class drug candidates with a goal of reaching clinical proof-of-concept. The announcement notes rapid program progression since its Series A financing close.

Total raised

$208M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

May 2021