TuHURA Biosciences and Kineta present updated results of cancer candidates

TuHURA Biosciences (HURA) reported on poster presentations of Kineta’s (KANT) KVA12123 novel anti-VISTA antibody and TuHURA’s IFx-Hu2.0 in advanced melanoma and at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. In the first poster presentation, TuHURA and Kineta provided updated results from VISTA-101, a Phase I-II first-in-human study of KVA12123 alone and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors. KVA12123 was found to be generally safe and well tolerated in all monotherapy and combination arms, with no dose-limiting toxicities observed. Additionally, KVA12123 demonstrated a favorable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile at all dose levels. At 1,000mg every two weeks, KVA12123 demonstrated greater than dose proportional PK profile exceeding 90% VISTA receptor occupancy. No dose limiting toxicities were observed in the study. The Markowitz Lab also presented a poster of TuHURA’s IFx-Hu2.0 in patients with advanced treatment refractory Melanoma who progressed while on CPI therapy. The data demonstrated that, among heavily pre-treated patients with advanced Melanoma who were resistant to anti-PD-1-based therapy, following IFx-Hu2.0, three of four patients achieved clinically meaningful, durable anti-tumor responses following re-administration of a CPI. In the second poster presentation, IFx-Hu2.0’s first-in-human study demonstrated stimulation of an innate immune response, with increased T cell and B cell production in peripheral blood compared to tumor tissue. IFx-Hu2.0 was generally safe and well tolerated. On December 11, 2024, TuHURA agreed to acquire Kineta, including the rights to Kineta’s novel KVA12123 antibody, for a combination of cash and shares of TuHURA common stock via a merger transaction. The merger is currently targeted to close in Q2.