Pancreatic Cancer Trial Drug Shows Promise in Study

An experimental drug to treat pancreatic cancer has shown promise in a new study, and researchers say they found a “63% improvement in progression free survival and a safety profile consistent with previous studies” in a 214 patient randomized controlled Phase 2b clinical trial.

Pancreatic cancer is, as cancers go, a relatively “bad” cancer to get- prognosis for the disease is often quite dismal, and survival rates for the five and one-year marks rest at about 25% and 6%, respectively. For 80% of patients diagnosed, survival rates are between six and ten months from diagnosis. Diagnosing pancreatic cancer also presents a challenge, as the disease often presents with mild and vague symptoms or none at all, and frequently a patient is in the advanced stages of the disease before it is discovered.

Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. published a press release today with the particulars of the clinical trial’s results and indicate that the new drug shows significant promise in treating “aggressive” cancers. Barry Selick, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Threshold said in the release:

“With the results of this trial, we are again very encouraged that TH-302 is conferring benefit to patients with aggressive and difficult to treat cancers. We look forward to its ongoing development with our partner Merck KGaA in this and other indications.”

Stew Kroll, Senior Vice President of Biostatistics and Clinical Operations of Threshold, commented:

“This study provides the proof of concept demonstration that TH-302 contributes to the efficacy of a known active agent and supports the rationale for combining TH-302, a hypoxia targeting agent, with other approved therapies.”

Threshold is developing the drug with Merck.