On January 21, 2026 Syntara Limited (ASX: SNT), a clinical-stage drug development company, reported that the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney ("Garvan Institute") has been awarded a $3 million grant under the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund ("MRFF") to conduct two multicentre Australian clinical studies in advanced pancreatic cancer, one of which will evaluate Syntara’s investigational anti-fibrotic LOX inhibitor amsulostat (SNT-5505) in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy.
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Under the collaboration, Syntara will supply the drug in addition to scientific and clinical expertise to support the program. Syntara will not be required to provide cash funding as part of the clinical study.
The inclusion of amsulostat in this MRFF-funded clinical program builds on ground-breaking preclinical research led by the Garvan Institute and published in Nature Cancer (see ASX announcement 29 August 2023). The research demonstrated that targeting tumour fibrosis weakens the dense barrier that surrounds pancreatic tumours, enabling chemotherapy drugs to penetrate more effectively and destroy more cancer cells, as well as reducing cancer cell invasion and metastasis.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common form of pancreatic cancer, remains one of the most lethal cancers, with poor long-term survival outcomes. A key driver of treatment resistance is the fibrous "stromal" barrier that forms a fortress around tumours, limiting drug delivery and supporting tumour progression.
Professor Thomas Cox, Laboratory Head at the Garvan Institute and Conjoint Professor at St Vincent’s Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney said: "Pancreatic cancer creates a dense, scar-like barrier that diminishes patient response to therapy. Through our long-standing collaboration with Syntara, we’ve identified a promising strategy to target lysyl oxidases, the key enzymes that build and strengthen this scar tissue. The proposed phase I/II trial with amsulostat in combination with chemotherapy represents a critical step in validating and translating our laboratory findings into new treatment options for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer."
The MRFF-funded studies are expected to commence recruitment in mid-2026, enrolling patients with advanced pancreatic cancer across leading cancer centres in New South Wales, including Westmead Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and Wollongong Hospital. Further details regarding study design, participating sites and timelines will be announced closer to study commencement.
In addition to assessing safety and clinical activity, the studies will incorporate a precision medicine strategy, including deep molecular and genetic profiling of tumour and blood samples collected before and during treatment. This analysis aims to identify biomarkers and patient subgroups most likely to benefit, with the potential to guide more targeted therapy in future clinical development.
The approach of targeting tumour fibrosis may have broader implications for other solid cancers characterised by fibrous barriers that impede treatment delivery, including certain breast, liver and lung cancers and is supported by peerreviewed publications from academic collaborators using amsulostat.
Syntara Chief Executive Officer Gary Phillips said: "Whilst our focus remains on the treatment of haematological malignancies like MF and MDS, the pre-clinical work conducted by Professor Cox and others regarding chemotherapy resistant tumours is compelling. We are delighted that the MRFF have seen the value of translating this work into the clinic and look forward to supporting the Garvan and the clinical trial team to deliver results for pancreatic cancer patients
This MRFF supported pancreatic cancer study is now one of four Syntara clinical studies funded with non-dilutive capital, totalling more than $10m. This level of success in competitive grant processes is a very positive reflection on the quality of the pre-clinical science undertaken by Syntara and its research collaborators worldwide over a sustained period of time."
The initiation of the pancreatic cancer study later this year adds to an already rich clinical development program in 2026, which will see the SNT-4728 study in iRBD deliver top line results in Q2 2026, followed by two amsulostat studies in MDS and two skin scarring studies all due to report data later this year.
(Press release, Syntara, JAN 21, 2026, View Source [SID1234662104])