Karolinska Development AB announced that its portfolio company Aprea Therapeutics has received FDA approval of the company's IND application for the drug candidate APR-1051. Aprea has also secured funding up to USD 34 million through a financing round led by Sphera Healthcare. With the approval and financing in place, the company will be able to start the first clinical study with APR-1051.

The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Aprea Therapeutics Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the drug candidate April-1051. APR-1051 is a next-generation inhibitor of Wee1 kinase and the company plans to initiate the clinical phase I study ACESOT-1051. The aim is to evaluate therapeutic activity of APR-1051 in patients, focusing on cancer forms that overexpress Cyclin E, including ovarian and breast cancers.