On June 16, 2021 The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), a leading pancreatic cancer advocacy organization, reported that the latest update to its novel clinical trial platform, Precision PromiseSM, with the addition of a new treatment arm by biopharmaceutical company, FibroGen, Inc(Press release, PanCAN, JUN 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234584077]).

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!

Pancreatic cancer is currently the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S., with an overall five-year survival rate of just 10 percent. Roughly 63 percent of patients die within the first year of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, underscoring the urgent need for new and more effective treatment options.

The new experimental treatment arm tests FibroGen’s pamrevlumab in combination with standard of care chemotherapy treatments for pancreatic cancer, Gemcitabine and Abraxane. The combination therapy is offered to patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer as either a first- or second-line treatment option, marking the first experimental treatment arm to be offered as a first-line treatment in PanCAN’s innovative Precision Promise trial. With this addition, a newly diagnosed patient enrolling in Precision Promise has the opportunity to be randomized onto an experimental therapy as their first-line treatment, and then onto another experimental therapy as their second-line treatment if they maintain eligibility when the first treatment becomes no longer effective.

"By partnering with FibroGen to bring a first-line experimental treatment arm into Precision Promise, we are expanding options for the patients enrolling in this trial," said Anne-Marie Duliege, MD, PanCAN’s Chief Medical Officer. "It is one of PanCAN’s major objectives to continue to bring innovative, experimental drugs like FibroGen’s pamrevlumab into this study in order to accelerate drug development and hopefully bring new therapies to market faster. Pancreatic cancer patients can’t afford to wait."

FibroGen’s pamrevlumab is a first-in-class antibody that inhibits the activity of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), which, in cancer, is characterized by promotion of tumor growth. Pamrevlumab is in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer (LAPC).

"We are inspired by the mission of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and are excited to partner with them," said Mark Eisner, M.D, M.P.H, Chief Medical Officer, FibroGen. "We share PanCAN’s goal of accelerating the development of new treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients."

PanCAN’s Precision Promise aims to revolutionize the clinical development paradigm in pancreatic cancer by enabling a faster, more efficient, and patient-centric approach to developing new treatment options and improving outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients.The novel clinical trial platform requires fewer patients to understand if a potential new therapy is working and can accelerate late stage development by up to two years. The statistical design of Precision Promise was led by renowned statistician Dr. Donald Berry (Berry Consulting), designer of the I-SPY breast cancer trials.

Precision Promise is currently open and enrolling at 15 Clinical Trial Consortium sites nationwide and PanCAN expects to add five additional sites in early 2022. In selecting the additional sites, PanCAN has set strict criteria to identify not only institutions with strong pancreatic cancer programs, but also institutions that represent new geographic areas and serve a diverse patient population in order to expand access for typically underserved communities.

To learn more about Precision Promise and PanCAN’s commitment to research, visit pancan.org. Pancreatic cancer patients and caregivers can receive personalized support and resources, and more information about Precision Promise, through PanCAN’s Patient Services or by calling 877-2-PANCAN.