The candidate is being positioned as a potential oral competitor to Sanofi and Regeneron’s blockbuster Dupixent in allergy and inflammation indications.
Kymera Therapeutics reported Phase I results for its experimental protein degrader KT-621 on Monday, showing the ability to lower the target protein in healthy volunteers.
In a note to investors on Monday afternoon, analysts at Truist Securities said they “view KT-621 as a potential oral version of Dupixent, with ~$14 billion annual sales across multiple indications,” positioning the new drug as an oral version of Sanofi and Regeneron’s injectable blockbuster for allergic diseases. Dupixent recorded 2024 sales of $13.62 billion.
“Data exceeded our base case expectations. we continue to believe broad potential for the drug,” the analysts said. “We expect the drug to work across tissues and indicates potential for broad applicability across indications.”
The company’s share price jumped 45% on Monday after the data were announced.
The molecule is in a Phase Ib trial for moderate to severe eczema and will likely be trialed for atopic dermatitis and asthma later this year.
KT-621 works by targeting and degrading a protein called STAT6, a transcription factor implicated in inflammation and allergy disorders.
Kymera’s data appear to indicate that this strategy could pay off. KT-621 showed more than 90% STAT6 degradation in blood when delivered at doses above 1.5 mg, and it managed complete STAT6 degradation in blood and skin with doses over 50 mg.
The drug was well tolerated, the company said, with a “boring” safety profile.
“This impressive dataset, the first reported clinical data for a STAT6-targeted medicine, is a powerful demonstration of what we believe is an impeccable translation into humans,” Nello Mainolfi, Kymera’s founder and president, said in a statement.
Other companies are also pursuing the protein degradation approach. On Monday, Sanofi paid $15 million to exclusively license Nurix’s STAT6 degrader candidate NX-3911, a product of a collaboration between the two companies that dates back to 2019.
