Kura Oncology reported preclinical data supporting the potential therapeutic utility of menin inhibitors in the treatment of diabetes (20.97)
- The new findings were presented this weekend at the American Diabetes Association's 84th Scientific Sessions in Orlando. Copies of the presentation are available in the Posters and Presentations section on Kura's website. "Despite the introduction of multiple options for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a significant unmet need exists as a large proportion of patients do not achieve glycemic control," said Francis Burrows, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Translational Research.
- "We are encouraged by these preclinical data for ziftomenib in diabetes, which demonstrate the potential for menin inhibitors to enhance pancreatic function and warrant further evaluation in diabetes."
- Type 2 diabetes is marked by an inadequate number of functional pancreatic beta cells, which results in insufficient insulin production, leading to hyperglycemia. Ziftomenib demonstrated meaningful levels of glycemic control in preclinical in vivo models, including reduced fasting blood glucose levels and %HbA1C within 27 days as well as consistent improvement in both insulin sensitivity and insulin production. The data show that the effects of ziftomenib were fully maintained following dose discontinuation, suggesting restoration of beta-cell mass. A decline in pancreatic beta-cell function and/or mass has been defined as a key contributing factor to disease progression in type 2 diabetes. Notably, in human islet microtissues originating from two donor samples, ziftomenib induced beta-cell proliferation while non-beta-cell proliferation was not detectable, demonstrating menin is a viable therapeutic target for beta-cell mass specific expansion.