AbbVie is setting up a shot to buy Kestrel Therapeutics down the line, as the biotech doses patients in a Phase 1 trial for the oral pan-KRAS inhibitor KST-6051 in solid tumors.
AbbVie is staking claim to Kestrel Therapeutics, should the biotech meet certain milestones associated with its oral pan-KRAS inhibitor for solid tumors. The exclusive right to acquire would value the deal at up to $1.45 billion.
Kestrel announced the potential transaction Tuesday, at the same time as it revealed that dosing had begun for a Phase 1 clinical trial of KST-6051 for patients with KRAS-driven cancers. KRAS is one of the most common drivers of cancers, with about 20% of all malignancies associated with the mutation.
Many Big Pharmas have been digging into the space, including Amgen, which achieved approval of the first KRAS drug, Lumakras, in 2021. AstraZeneca has also recently been hunting for KRAS inhibitors in China, inking a $2 billion deal with Jacobio in December 2025.
AbbVie’s Eleni Lagkadinou, vice president of Oncology Early Development, said the partnership will explore broader KRAS mutations, whereas the earlier drugs have targeted very specific ones and had limited patient impact.
With the agreement, AbbVie will fund the KST-6051 program. The companies did not list the development and regulatory milestones that must be reached to trigger AbbVie’s right to buy Kestrel.
