KUDA THERAPEUTICS AWARDED $5.6M U.S. DoD GRANT TO BRING LEAD ONCOLOGY CANDIDATE INTO CLINIC

September 18, 2025

Salt Lake City, UT – September 15, 2025 — Kuda Therapeutics (Kuda), a biotechnology company developing first-in-class therapies for solid tumors, today announced that it has been awarded a $5.6 million non-dilutive grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to advance its lead candidate, KD061, toward first-in-human clinical trials. The funding supports progress through IND filing, which remains on track for Q4 2026.

This award brings Kuda’s total federal grant funding to $9 million in support of its HIF inhibitor/ferroptosis inducer program. KD061 is a novel oral therapeutic that exhibits greater than 70% tumor growth inhibition in mouse models of cancer through daily administration. It acts by blocking the tumor driver hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) while simultaneously promoting cancer cell death through non-GPX4-mediated ferroptosis, a unique mechanism of programmed cell death.

“This award is truly transformational for Kuda since not only does it get us to a pivotal milestone – enabling first-in-human trials – it provides validation from the scientist peer reviewers regarding the quality of our program and its potential value to patients’ lives,” said Mei Koh, Chief Executive Officer of Kuda Therapeutics.

About Kuda Therapeutics
Kuda Therapeutics is a Salt Lake City-based oncology company developing first-in-class therapies for solid tumors, with a specific focus on renal cell carcinoma. Its lead candidate, KD061, is designed to target HIF-2α while inducing ferroptosis (a form of iron-dependent cell death), representing a novel therapeutic approach for patients with advanced cancers.

Media Contact:
Travis Ehlinger
CFO
Kuda Therapeutics