Two individuals in white lab coats engaged in discussion, one holding a clipboard and pen while the other listens attentively.

OUR APPROACH

A new era of precision medicine is here.

PRECISION MEDICINES

With the advent of precision medicines that can target unique molecular or genetic features of a patient’s tumor, the field of oncology has a host of alternatives to one-size-fits-all treatments. This is a major advance over traditional chemotherapy, which can be as potent against healthy tissue as it is against cancer. Using tumor genomic profiling and biomarker strategies, physicians can select the patients most likely to respond well to targeted therapies. Yet, so far, due to exquisite selectivity of these new precision medicines, only relatively smaller patient populations have benefitted.

The future of precision oncology is in expanding the number of potential patients who may benefit from these innovative treatments, through a thorough understanding of cancer biology and resistance and the creation of next-generation precision medicines that seek to overcome these challenges.

A medical professional holding a tablet in front of shelves.
Two people sitting outdoors, embracing each other in front of a lake, with trees in the background.

OVERCOMING RESISTANCE WITH COMBINATION TREATMENTS

Even for the patients who do benefit from precision medicine, it’s rare for cancer to be eradicated. Cancer almost always returns as tumor cells learn to adapt to the therapy and evade its effects — a phenomenon known as treatment resistance.

Through our deep understanding of cancer biology and decades of experience in precision oncology, we are studying the underlying causes of treatment resistance. This enables us to design smart combination regimens with other cancer therapies to target tumors from multiple directions, with the goal of improving long-term clinical benefit.

NOVEL BIOMARKERS AND PATIENT SELECTION STRATEGIES

A vitally important piece of the precision medicine puzzle is our work discovering novel biomarkers — such as proteins, genes or other molecules — that indicate whether a patient may benefit from a given treatment. Working with our clinical, laboratory and molecular pathology partners, we integrate biomarker testing into our clinical trials for patient selection and to discover novel biomarkers that may expand the number of patients who may benefit from treatment. This clinical data and translational research have the potential to pave the way to more efficient trials and improved patient outcomes.

Adult helping a child ride a bicycle on a paved path surrounded by green grass and trees.
Two individuals seated across from each other at a table looking over a document, with large windows behind them revealing a cityscape.
A man seated at his desk, looking at his desktop screen.

At Kura, we are leading the next era of precision medicine — an era that aims to deliver on the critical need to anticipate and circumvent common mechanisms of treatment resistance and extends the past decade of success in targeted medicines to broader patient populations.