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Upcoming FDA Approval Will Open New Oncology Avenues

Published
27 Mar 25
Updated
04 Dec 25
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AnalystConsensusTarget's Fair Value
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1Y
2.5%
7D
-12.2%

Author's Valuation

US$3369.0% undervalued intrinsic discount

AnalystConsensusTarget Fair Value

Last Update 04 Dec 25

Fair value Increased 3.77%

KURA: FDA Approval Will Drive Future Upside From New Leukemia Therapy

Analysts have nudged their price target on Kura Oncology slightly higher, from $29 to $30 per share, citing the FDA approval and rollout expectations for Komzifti as a key value driver.

Analyst Commentary

Analysts view the FDA approval of Komzifti as a pivotal inflection point for Kura Oncology, prompting upward revisions to valuation models and risk assumptions.

Bullish Takeaways

  • Bullish analysts now assign a 100 percent probability of success to Komzifti in their models, effectively removing a major regulatory overhang and supporting a higher risk adjusted valuation.
  • The characterization of Komzifti's approval as a watershed moment underpins expectations for a meaningful shift from a development stage narrative to a commercial growth story.
  • Updated sales forecasts, even assuming only about one month of initial rollout, suggest early revenue contribution that can help de risk near term cash burn and support funding for broader pipeline execution.
  • The modest increase in price target, despite a step change in perceived risk profile, implies further upside potential if launch metrics and market penetration exceed currently conservative assumptions.

Bearish Takeaways

  • The incremental one dollar increase in price target indicates that some of the Komzifti approval upside had already been priced in, limiting near term re rating potential.
  • Sales assumptions build in only a short initial rollout period, highlighting execution risk around launch readiness, physician adoption, and payer access that could impact early revenue trajectories.
  • With Komzifti success now treated as certain in models, future valuation moves may be more sensitive to real world performance metrics and competitive dynamics, increasing downside risk if expectations are not met.

What's in the News

  • Kura Oncology and Kyowa Kirin received full FDA approval for KOMZIFTI (ziftomenib) for adults with relapsed or refractory AML with susceptible NPM1 mutation, supported by pivotal KOMET-001 data showing a 21.4 percent CR/CRh rate and median response duration of 5 months (Company announcement).
  • KOMZIFTI has been incorporated into the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology as a Category 2A recommended option for adults with relapsed or refractory NPM1 mutated AML and is now commercially available in the United States through a limited network of specialty pharmacies and distributors (Company announcement).
  • The first U.S. commercial sale of KOMZIFTI has been completed, triggering a 135 million dollar milestone payment from Kyowa Kirin to Kura, expected before year end (Company announcement).
  • Kura received two 30 million dollar milestone payments tied to first patient dosing in the KOMET-017 Phase 3 registrational trials of ziftomenib, bringing total milestones received to 105 million dollars with up to 315 million dollars in additional near term milestones anticipated (Company announcement).
  • New preliminary data from Kura's FTI programs, darlifarnib (KO-2806) and tipifarnib, presented at ESMO 2025, showed manageable safety and encouraging antitumor activity across advanced solid tumors and PIK3CA altered head and neck cancer, supporting further combination development (Company announcement).

Valuation Changes

  • Fair Value has risen slightly, increasing from 31.8 dollars to 33.0 dollars per share. This reflects modestly higher long term expectations.
  • Discount Rate has edged up from 7.01 percent to approximately 7.04 percent, implying a marginally higher required return and slightly higher perceived risk.
  • Revenue Growth remains effectively unchanged at about 60.54 percent, indicating no material revision to top line expansion assumptions.
  • Net Profit Margin has decreased modestly, moving from roughly 16.98 percent to 16.03 percent. This suggests slightly lower long term profitability expectations.
  • Future P/E multiple has risen meaningfully, from about 56.5x to 62.2x, signaling a higher valuation being assigned to Kura Oncology's projected earnings stream.

Key Takeaways

  • Anticipated drug approvals and a diverse pipeline in high-need oncology segments set the stage for accelerated revenue growth and market expansion.
  • Strategic partnerships and industry trends support strong financial positioning, reduced risk, and sustainable long-term earnings potential.
  • Reliance on successful drug development amid mounting losses, regulatory uncertainty, strong competition, and funding constraints threatens future market access, profitability, and shareholder value.

Catalysts

About Kura Oncology
    A clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines for the treatment of cancer.
What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
  • The expected FDA approval and commercial launch of ziftomenib for relapsed/refractory NPM1-mutant AML, along with positive priority review signals and strong KOL feedback, could drive rapid revenue growth and early market share capture in a high unmet need segment.
  • The ongoing initiation of two Phase III frontline AML trials (KOMET-017), leveraging accelerated approval pathways and trial efficiencies, positions Kura to potentially expand its addressable market to over $7 billion annually-substantially improving long-term revenue and earnings prospects if successful.
  • Kura's expanding pipeline, including next-generation farnesyl transferase inhibitors and menin inhibitors for broader indications (GIST, diabetes, solid tumors), provides multiple shots on goal that diversify risk and could result in future revenue streams and margin expansion.
  • The company's strategic partnership with Kyowa Kirin enables non-dilutive funding through milestone payments (up to $375M near-term milestones), supports commercial scale-up, and eases financing risks, collectively improving cash burn rates and potential net margins.
  • Secular factors such as the rising global cancer incidence, the shift toward precision, targeted therapies (areas Kura is focused on), and faster, biomarker-driven drug approval processes, are expanding demand for innovative oncology solutions, anchoring sustainable long-term revenue growth as Kura's therapies come to market.

Kura Oncology Earnings and Revenue Growth

Kura Oncology Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

How have these above catalysts been quantified?
  • Analysts are assuming Kura Oncology's revenue will grow by 73.5% annually over the next 3 years.
  • Analysts are not forecasting that Kura Oncology will become profitable in next 3 years. To represent the Analyst Price Target as a Future PE Valuation we will estimate Kura Oncology's profit margin will increase from -236.8% to the average US Biotechs industry of 16.1% in 3 years.
  • If Kura Oncology's profit margin were to converge on the industry average, you could expect earnings to reach $69.8 million (and earnings per share of $0.66) by about September 2028, up from $-197.2 million today. However, there is a considerable amount of disagreement amongst the analysts with the most bullish expecting $259.1 million in earnings, and the most bearish expecting $-459.4 million.
  • In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 49.9x on those 2028 earnings, up from -3.7x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the US Biotechs industry at 15.5x.
  • Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 7.0% per year for the next 3 years.
  • To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 6.78%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Kura Oncology Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Kura Oncology Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?
  • Kura Oncology remains pre-revenue with increasing net losses ($66.1M in Q2 2025 vs. $50.8M in Q2 2024) and a rapidly declining cash position ($630.7M as of June 2025 vs. $727.4M at end-2024), meaning delays in product approvals or commercialization could necessitate dilutive fundraising, directly impacting earnings per share and shareholder value.
  • The company faces significant clinical development risk, as lead candidate ziftomenib awaits its first FDA approval (with a PDUFA date of Nov 2025) and is still enrolling pivotal Phase III trials for frontline AML-any clinical failure or regulatory delay would materially impact anticipated revenue growth and prolong unprofitable operations.
  • Heightened competition, particularly from larger, better-resourced players like Janssen (J&J) with a menin inhibitor already in Phase III for similar AML populations, could erode Kura's potential future market share and pricing power, materially limiting long-term revenue and net margin expansion.
  • Payer resistance to covering expensive novel therapies-especially as healthcare cost containment and regulatory scrutiny on drug pricing intensifies-could restrict market access and result in downward pressure on expected revenues and gross margins for Kura's prospective products.
  • Ongoing reliance on milestone payments from collaborations (e.g., Kyowa Kirin agreement) introduces uncertainty to financial planning, and any underperformance in achieving these milestones, along with tightening capital markets, could constrain available funding for clinical development, increasing financial risk and impeding future earnings growth.

Valuation

How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?
  • The analysts have a consensus price target of $27.0 for Kura Oncology based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $40.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $11.0.
  • In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $434.8 million, earnings will come to $69.8 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 49.9x, assuming you use a discount rate of 6.8%.
  • Given the current share price of $8.43, the analyst price target of $27.0 is 68.8% higher.
  • We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.

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Disclaimer

AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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