Kura Oncology Grants Stock Options to New Employees Under 2023 Inducement Option Plan

Kura Oncology grants stock options to new employees as part of its inducement plan, supporting ongoing cancer research efforts.

Quiver AI Summary

Kura Oncology, Inc. announced the granting of inducement awards, consisting of nonstatutory stock options for 141,750 shares of common stock, to eight new employees on July 1, 2025. These awards, which are part of the Company's 2023 Inducement Option Plan, will have an exercise price of $5.60 per share and will vest over four years, contingent on the employees' continued service. Kura Oncology focuses on precision medicines for cancer treatment, with a pipeline that includes ziftomenib, the first investigational therapy designated as a Breakthrough Therapy by the FDA for relapsed/refractory NPM1-mutant acute myeloid leukemia. The company recently completed enrollment in a Phase 2 trial for ziftomenib and received a target action date from the FDA for a New Drug Application. Additionally, Kura is exploring other drug candidates for various cancer types in ongoing clinical trials.

Potential Positives

The grant of inducement awards in the form of stock options to eight new employees indicates Kura Oncology's commitment to attracting and retaining top talent in the biopharmaceutical sector.
The approval of stock options is in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), showcasing the company’s compliance with regulatory standards.
Kura Oncology's investigational therapy ziftomenib has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA, highlighting the potential impact of their treatment on a specific patient population.
The FDA's acceptance of a New Drug Application for ziftomenib signifies progress in the company's pipeline and could lead to commercialization opportunities in the near future.

Potential Negatives

Granting stock options to new employees may raise concerns about excessive compensation practices, especially in a clinical-stage company with uncertain revenue.
The reliance on inducement stock options might indicate challenges in recruiting high-quality talent, reflecting potential issues within the company's workplace culture or reputation.

FAQ

What stock options were granted by Kura Oncology recently?

Kura Oncology granted nonstatutory stock options to purchase 141,750 shares to eight new employees on July 1, 2025.

What is the exercise price of the stock options?

The exercise price of the stock options is $5.60 per share, based on the closing sales price on July 1, 2025.

How will the stock options vest?

The stock options will vest over four years, with 25% vesting after one year and the remainder monthly over 36 months.

What is ziftomenib and its significance?

Ziftomenib is a once-daily oral menin inhibitor and the first investigational therapy for NPM1-mutant acute myeloid leukemia with FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation.

When is the target action date for ziftomenib's New Drug Application?

The target action date for ziftomenib's New Drug Application is November 30, 2025, as set by the FDA.

Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.

$KURA Insider Trading Activity

$KURA insiders have traded $KURA stock on the open market 17 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 17 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $KURA stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

FAHEEM HASNAIN sold 22,682 shares for an estimated $181,456
TERESA BROPHY BAIR (Chief Legal Officer) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 8,840 shares for an estimated $66,606.
MOLLIE LEONI (Chief Medical Officer) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 4,963 shares for an estimated $39,068.
THOMAS JAMES DOYLE (SVP, Finance & Accounting) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 4,949 shares for an estimated $38,958.
KATHLEEN FORD (Chief Operating Officer) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 3,375 shares for an estimated $24,080.
FRANCIS BURROWS (Chief Scientific Officer) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 2,166 shares for an estimated $17,050.
BRIAN T. POWL (Chief Commercial Officer) sold 1,583 shares for an estimated $12,461

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$KURA Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 95 institutional investors add shares of $KURA stock to their portfolio, and 88 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

BVF INC/IL added 5,186,660 shares (+202.0%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $34,231,956
SUVRETTA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC added 2,362,811 shares (+46.5%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $15,594,552
AVORO CAPITAL ADVISORS LLC removed 2,250,000 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $14,850,000
MORGAN STANLEY removed 1,350,967 shares (-41.3%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $8,916,382
SIREN, L.L.C. removed 1,339,942 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $8,843,617
ECOR1 CAPITAL, LLC removed 916,971 shares (-25.8%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $6,052,008
SOFINNOVA INVESTMENTS, INC. added 791,667 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $5,225,002

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

Full Release

SAN DIEGO, July 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kura Oncology, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, today announced that on July 1, 2025, the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Compensation Committee”) granted inducement awards consisting of nonstatutory stock options to purchase 141,750 shares of common stock to eight (8) new employees under the Company’s 2023 Inducement Option Plan, as amended. The Compensation Committee approved the stock options as an inducement material to such employees’ employment in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

Each stock option has an exercise price equal to $5.60 per share, the Company’s closing sales price on July 1, 2025, and will vest over four years, with 25% of the underlying shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of the applicable vesting commencement date and the balance of the underlying shares vesting monthly thereafter over 36 months, subject to the new employees’ continued service relationship with the Company through the applicable vesting dates. The stock options are subject to the terms and conditions of the Company’s 2023 Inducement Option Plan, as amended, and the terms and conditions of an applicable stock option agreement covering the grant.

About Kura Oncology

Kura Oncology is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer. The Company’s pipeline consists of small molecule drug candidates designed to target cancer signaling pathways. Ziftomenib, a once-daily, oral menin inhibitor, is the first and only investigational therapy to receive Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (“R/R”) NPM1 -mutant acute myeloid leukemia (“AML”). In November 2024, Kura Oncology entered into a global strategic collaboration agreement with Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. to develop and commercialize ziftomenib for AML and other hematologic malignancies. Enrollment in a Phase 2 registration-directed trial of ziftomenib in R/R NPM1 -mutant AML has been completed, and in the second quarter of 2025, the companies announced the FDA’s acceptance of a New Drug Application for ziftomenib for the treatment of adult patients with R/R NPM1 -mutant AML and assignment of a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of November 30, 2025. Kura Oncology and Kyowa Kirin are also conducting a series of clinical trials to evaluate ziftomenib in combination with current standards of care in newly diagnosed and R/R NPM1 -mutant and KMT2A -rearranged AML. KO-2806, a next-generation farnesyl transferase inhibitor, is being evaluated in a Phase 1 dose-escalation trial as a monotherapy and in combination with targeted therapies for patients with various solid tumors. Tipifarnib, a potent and selective farnesyl transferase inhibitor, is currently in a Phase 1/2 trial in combination with alpelisib for patients with PIK3CA -dependent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. For additional information, please visit Kura’s website at https://kuraoncology.com/ and follow us on X and LinkedIn .

Contacts

Investors:
Patti Bank
Managing Director
(415) 513-1284
[email protected]

Media:
[email protected]