Erasca is looking for a refresh as it drops several early-stage cancer assets, picks up new ones from China and raises cash to help push its lead candidate to the finish line.
The San Diego biotech said late Thursday that it is deprioritizing its ERK 1/2 inhibitor ERAS-007 and pan-KRAS candidate ERAS-4. As for the EFGR inhibitor ERAS-801, patient enrolment will be paused according to Mizuho analysts, citing a conversation with Erasca execs, but Erasca said the drug will be further explored in investigator-led trials.
The company said it will also lay off 18% of its workforce, notably staffers in its drug discovery unit and ones working on the deprioritized candidates. At the end of February, it had 126 full-time employees, with 90 people in R&D.
As for its new assets, it is licensing one preclinical program each from China-based companies Joyo Pharmatech and Medshine Discovery.
Erasca will pay Joyo $12.5 million upfront for worldwide rights to a pan-RAS molecular glue, named ERAS-0015, except for in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. In return, Joyo could get up to $176.5 million in milestones as well as royalties on sales.
In the Medshine deal, Erasca is paying $10 million upfront for worldwide rights to a selective KRAS inhibitor, dubbed ERAS-4001, that it said could “provide an improved therapeutic window relative to RAS inhibitors.” The agreement includes $160 million in milestones as well as royalties on sales.
To advance its new pipeline and get its lead asset, a pan-RAF inhibitor dubbed naporafenib, through a planned Phase 3 melanoma trial, the company said it is raising $160 million in a common stock offering.
Mizuho analysts called the updates a “surprise” as the company only reported its first-quarter earnings a week ago. At the time, the biotech reported it had $334 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, which is enough to support operations through the second half of 2026, but the analysts anticipate the cash runway to extend in light of Friday’s update.
The analysts added that their initial reaction is “mixed” given that the two programs being discontinued were high-profile and “of particular interest” to them.
Erasa deprioritized ERAS-007 after learning that efficacy results from the Phase 1/2 HERKULES-3 trial of the drug in colorectal cancer do not support further development, it said in a press release. Data are due to be presented at the ASCO meeting in June. ERAS-4 was in development for solid tumors while ERAS-801 was in development for recurrent glioblastoma.