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Kairos Pharma is a clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology. (Incorporated in Delaware)
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing therapeutics for cancer patients that are designed to overcome key hurdles in immune suppression and drug resistance. These therapeutics include antibodies and small molecules for the treatment of prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and glioblastoma. We are driven by innovative science to develop novel and transformative drug therapies to treat cancer.
Our mission is to advance our portfolio of innovative therapeutics to transform the way cancer is treated. We have leveraged molecular insights to develop a new class of novel drugs that we expect will target drug resistance and checkpoints of immune suppression. “Checkpoints” refer to molecules on certain immune cells that need to be activated (or inactivated) to start an immune response. Our portfolio of seven drug candidates offers diversification and mitigates the overall exposure to many of the inherent risks of drug development. Our key patents are licensed from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the largest academic medical center in the Western United States, and Tracon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage public biopharmaceutical company based in California. The science underlying the patents was developed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and was licensed to us from this institution.
The human immune system can tell the difference between normal cells in the body and those it sees as “foreign,” which allows it to focus an attack on the foreign cells while leaving the normal cells alone. To do this, our immune system uses checkpoints. Cancer cells can find ways to use these checkpoints to avoid being attacked by the immune system.
We are developing small molecules that we believe can specifically target these central checkpoints. In addition, we are developing an activated T cell therapy that is designed to transform a patient’s T cells into killer activated T cells against cancerous stem cells. These activated T cells are induced to target several antigen targets on glioblastoma cancer stem cells, the initiators and propagators of glioblastoma tumors.
In June 2021, Kairos acquired Enviro Therapeutics, Inc., a California corporation (“Enviro”), through a share exchange. Enviro’s shareholders exchanged 100% of the outstanding shares of Enviro for 6,000,000 shares of newly issued restricted shares of common stock of Kairos. After the closing, Enviro became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kairos. The acquisition allowed us to incorporate into our company Enviro’s advanced pipeline of drug candidates in Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials. The pipeline includes two therapeutic agents addressing what we believe to be significant unmet needs in the prostate and lung cancer markets and that we believe can help address cancer progression in those cancers that develop resistance to standard therapies.
Our drug candidate portfolio currently consists of a pipeline of seven drug candidates, including KROS drugs, which are immunotherapeutics, and ENV antibodies, which are designed to reverse drug resistance that often results as a consequence of the use of cancer therapeutics. Our pipeline is summarized below:
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Five pre-clinical or clinical-trial stage drug candidates developed by us and designed to target immune response, including KROS 101, 102, 201, 301, and 401, which are designed to reverse immunosuppression of T cells that is caused by cancer.
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KROS 101 and 102 are small molecules that are agonist and antagonist for the GITR (glucocorticoid induced TNF-like receptor) ligand, which respectively promote and inhibit T cell growth and function. GITR is a checkpoint central to control the numbers of T cells of the immune system. These molecules are in the preclinical stage and are being developed for clinical trials.
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KROS 201 is an autologous T cell therapy targeting cancer stem cells of glioblastoma. This therapy has received an IND from the FDA for clinical trial and is undergoing preparation for a Phase 1 clinical trial for patients with recurrent glioblastoma.
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KROS 301 is a small molecule that targets the NF-ĸβ pathway, a cancer growth and immune suppressive molecule in triple negative breast cancer. This molecule is in preclinical testing.
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KROS 401 is a cyclic peptide which inhibits the IL-4 and IL-13 (cytokines that play a critical role in the suppression of T cells by macrophages at the site of the tumor) receptor and is designed to reverse the immunosuppression induced by macrophages in the tumor microenvironment.
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Two therapeutic agents developed by our Enviro subsidiary and designed to increase anti-tumor response in conjunction with cancer therapies by addressing resistance to these agents.
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ENV 105 is an antibody that targets CD105 / Endoglin which is expressed in tumor cells and surrounding cells as the tumor becomes resistant to therapeutics in prostate cancer and lung cancer. This therapy is being tested in a randomized multicenter Phase 2 trial for prostate cancer and a Phase 1 trial in lung cancer, both of which began enrolling patients in September 2023. ENV 105 has received an IND from the FDA.
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ENV 205 is an antibody that targets mitochondrial DNA which is elevated as patients become resistant to chemotherapies. This therapy is in preclinical testing.
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*Note: Net loss and revenue are for the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, 2023.
(Note: Kairos Pharma, Ltd. disclosed terms for its IPO in an S-1/A filing dated Feb. 14, 2024: The IPO will consist of 1.55 million shares at $4.00 to raise $6.25 million. The biotech also said it is changing its listing venue to the NYSE – American Exchange from the NASDAQ. Background: Kairos Pharma filed its S-1 on Sept. 29, 2023.)
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