On September 30, 2021 Amplia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: ATX), ("Amplia" or the "Company"), a company developing new drugs for the treatment of cancer and fibrosis, reported that publication of a key paper from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research ("Garvan") (Press release, Amplia Therapeutics, SEP 30, 2021, View Source;[email protected] [SID1234590579]). The paper, which describes the fundamental biology underpinning Amplia’s planned Phase 2 clinical trial in pancreatic cancer patients, further highlightsthe potential benefits of using a focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor prior to administration of standard chemotherapy.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Entitled "Intravital imaging technology guides FAK-mediated priming in pancreatic cancer precision medicine according to Merlin status" the paper has been published in the high impact peer-reviewed journal Science Advances. 1 Professor Paul Timpson, a leading researcher in FAK biology at Garvan and a member of Amplia’s Scientific Advisory Board, led the research program which has shown that in mice that have been implanted with human pancreatic cancer tissue, pre-treatment with a FAK inhibitor (‘priming’) increased the responsiveness of the cancer to subsequently administered gemcitabine/Abraxane chemotherapy. Furthermore, FAK-priming reduced the metastatic spread of tumour cells to secondary sites such as the liver.
"There have been several publications over the last two years that have highlighted the potential of FAK inhibitors in pancreatic cancer, including their ability to work synergistically with chemotherapy agents" said John Lambert, CEO of Amplia: "This latest study from our collaborators at the Garvan Institute is particularly exciting as its replicates the approach that we are taking to treat first line pancreatic cancer patients in our recently announced Phase 2 clinical trial. We believe that making an established standard of care, namely chemotherapy with gemcitabine/Abraxane, more effective offers a very promising approach for improving the outcomes for these patients".