Business
Kezar Life Sciences Reports Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Provides Clinical and Business Update
Conference call and webcast today at 4:30pm EDT SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KZR), a clinical-stage biotechnology
About this update from Kezar Life Sciences, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nConference call and webcast today at 4:30pm EDT\n\n SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nKezar Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KZR), a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for immune-mediated and oncologic disorders, today announced its second quarter 2020 financial results and corporate highlights.\n\n\n“Our excitement continues to build around the novel mechanism of KZR-616 and supports our conviction that targeting master regulators of cellular function – like the immunoproteasome – can benefit patients in need,” said John Fowler, Kezar’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our recent fundraising has established a strong balance sheet to allow us to prosecute our robust pipeline.”\n\n\nNoreen Henig, M.D., Kezar’s Chief Medical Officer added, “We are encouraged by the striking early signs of efficacy and the favorable safety and tolerability we’ve seen with KZR-616 and believe in its potential to be a profound treatment option for a wide array of autoimmune diseases. Based on recent events, we plan to adjust our clinical development plans to optimize and expedite the development pathway for KZR-616. In addition, activities related to KZR-261, the first molecule to come forward from our protein secretion inhibition platform, continue as planned for an IND submission in the first quarter of 2021.”\n\n\nClinical Highlights & Updates\n\n\nKZR-616 – Selective Immunoproteasome Inhibitor\n\n\nKZR-616 is currently being evaluated for the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases.\n\n\n\nOn June 3, 2020, Kezar provided a data update from the Phase 1b portion of the MISSION study. Overall, improvements were seen across seven measures of disease activity in a majority of patients, and two of two patients with lupus nephritis (LN) experienced a greater than 50% reduction in proteinuria, a biomarker of disease severity. A positive safety and tolerability profile was observed with step-up dosing of KZR-616. The Phase 1b dataset builds on the safety and tolerability evaluation performed in 100 healthy subjects from two Phase 1a studies.\n\n\nBased upon the positive results from the Phase 1b portion of MISSION and acknowledging the recent slowdown in recruitment activities across clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kezar has reviewed and adapted its clinical plans to optimize the development pathwa...