Kura Oncology, Inc. (KURA Quick QuoteKURA - Free Report) announced the dosing of the first patient in a phase II study on its farnesyl transferase inhibitor, tipifarnib, being developed for the treatment of patients suffering from lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

The study will enroll about 58 patients and patient samples will be analyzed for the presence or absence of various biomarkers possibly relevant to the activity of tipifarnib.

We are encouraged by the company’s progress with tipifarnib. Per information provided by Kura in its press release, MDS is estimated to have an annual incidence of roughly 13,000 patients in the U.S. and is usually associated with poor prognosis due to the low response rate to available treatment options.

We note that Kura in-licensed tipifarnib from Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ Quick QuoteJNJ - Free Report) Janssen in Dec 2014.

In addition to the MDS study, tipifarnib is being evaluated in several other phase II studies in patients with locally advanced solid tumors that carry HRAS mutations and in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphomas. The candidate is also currently being evaluated in an investigator sponsored phase II study in patients with advanced, previously treated urothelial carcinomas that carry HRAS mutations.

The company also plans to initiate a phase II study on tipifarnib for the treatment of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia in the second half of 2016.
 
Considering that Kura has no approved product in its portfolio at the moment with tipifarnib being the company’s lead pipeline candidate, we expect investor focus to remain on updates pertaining to its development.

Kura is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. A couple of better-ranked stocks in the health care sector are Retrophin, Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY Quick QuoteBMY - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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