molecules of the month

April 2020’s molecule, the Mirati KRAS G12C inhibitor MRTX849, has been a hotly followed compound in development as it is the closest clinical KRAS inhibitor to the likely soon-to-be approved AMG-510 (sotorasib). The KRAS clinical race easily would have been the most followed development story of 2020 had it not been for COVID, due to the significant disease burden of KRAS-mutant-driven tumors in large indications including lung cancer. That Mirati’s KRAS clinical data has led to a nearly $10B appreciation in its equity value prior to an approval says everything about expectations for KRAS inhibitors in cancer. The recent successes of covalent inhibitors in cancer for targets like BTK, FGFR, and KRAS G12C are driving a major resurgence in interest for…