On July 29, 2026 Silexion Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: SLXN) ("Silexion" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering RNA interference (RNAi) therapies for KRAS-driven cancers, reported the successful initiation of its Phase 2/3 clinical trial of SIL204, the Company’s lead small interfering RNA (siRNA) product candidate, at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center ("TASMC" or "Ichilov"), formally activating the first clinical site for the study in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer ("LAPC"). With the trial now initiated at TASMC, the site is cleared to commence patient screening.
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The initiation on July 29, 2026 follows the receipt of all regulatory and institutional approvals required to open the site — including the Israeli Ministry of Health authorization received on March 24, 2026, and the institutional ethics approval previously granted by TASMC – and confirms that Silexion’s investigational medicinal product ("IMP") for SIL204 is available in Israel and positioned for the site upon initial patient screening. TASMC, commonly known as Ichilov, is one of Israel’s largest teaching hospitals and a leading center for oncology clinical research, and serves as the anchor site for the Israeli arm of Silexion’s Phase 2/3 program.
Within approximately four months, Silexion completed a rapid sequence of clinical readiness milestones for SIL204: the Israeli Ministry of Health approval received in March 2026; the initiation of GMP clinical supply manufacturing with Catalent announced in May 2026; TASMC’s own institutional ethics approval for the Phase 2/3 trial announced in May 2026; and the BfArM authorization in Germany received in June 2026, all of which culminated in the activation of TASMC as the first clinical site for the SIL204 program on July 29, 2026. With the first clinical site now formally active, Silexion’s SIL204 program is moving beyond the regulatory preparation phase and into active clinical execution, with additional Israeli and German sites progressing through activation in parallel and first patient dosing anticipated as the next milestone.
"Successfully initiating our first clinical site at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center is a defining operational milestone for Silexion and for the SIL204 program," said Ilan Hadar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Silexion Therapeutics. "This is the moment where years of preclinical development, GMP manufacturing scale-up, and multi-jurisdictional regulatory work have translated into an active clinical program. TASMC is one of Israel’s premier oncology research centers and having it as our first active site provides an exceptional foundation as we bring additional Israeli and German centers online in the weeks and months ahead. We look forward to advancing rapidly toward first patient dosing."
The Phase 2/3 trial is designed to evaluate SIL204 in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, using Silexion’s innovative dual-route administration strategy— combining intratumoral delivery designed to overcome the stromal barrier that can limit systemic drug penetration into the primary tumor, alongside systemic administration to address metastatic disease. The study is structured as an initial safety run-in cohort of approximately 18 patients, followed by expansion into sites worldwide to obtain a randomized cohort of approximately 166 patients. Additional Israeli sites, alongside leading German oncology centers approved under the EU Clinical Trials Regulation framework, are advancing through site activation and are expected to join the program in the coming months.
SIL204, which is designed to silence a broad range of KRAS mutations rather than a single variant, supports Silexion’s potential applicability across multiple high-value cancer indications beyond pancreatic cancer. KRAS mutations are present in approximately 90% of pancreatic cancers, 45% of colorectal cancers, and 30–35% of lung adenocarcinomas, representing one of the largest and most persistent unmet needs in oncology. Pancreatic cancer—which is the subject of the current, initial clinical trial— remains one of the most lethal malignancies, with a five-year survival rate below 13%, and more than 80% of pancreatic cancer mortality driven by metastatic disease.
(Press release, Silexion Therapeutics, JUL 29, 2026, View Source [SID1234669512])