On November 1, 2016 PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. (OTCQB:PMCB), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted treatments for cancer and diabetes using its signature live-cell encapsulation technology, Cell-in-a-Box, reported that it has submitted a request for a pre-IND meeting with the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its planned clinical trial in locally advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer (LAPC) (Press release, PharmaCyte Biotech, NOV 1, 2016, View Source [SID1234516138]). Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! PharmaCyte has submitted questions to the FDA as part of a pre-IND meeting request where aspects of the content of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application itself (CMC section, clinical trial description, etc.) will be discussed. After the FDA has responded to the questions and issued comments, PharmaCyte must address them to the FDA’s satisfaction. A review of PharmaCyte’s responses by the FDA will then take place at the formal pre-IND meeting where final agreement between PharmaCyte and the FDA on all aspects discussed will be reached. With this information, the IND will be submitted by PharmaCyte and reviewed by the FDA. Once the IND is found to be acceptable to the FDA, patients can be enrolled in PharmaCyte’s clinical trial.
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PharmaCyte’s Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth L. Waggoner, said of the meeting request, "We are pleased that PharmaCyte has taken the first step towards regulatory approval in the United States of its therapy for LAPC. When I started to lead this company in January 2014, my first goal was to surround our technology with the best of the best in the biotech sector. I believe we have more than accomplished this goal as we have compiled an internationally renowned team that will lead PharmaCyte into what we expect to be a pivotal human clinical trial. My second goal was to get our therapy to the FDA, and with this pre-IND meeting request, we have accomplished this goal as well. My ultimate goal, of course, was and is to get our pancreatic cancer therapy into clinical trials and approved by the FDA. I feel we are well on our way to accomplishing this goal."
PharmaCyte’s clinical trial in patients with LAPC is designed to meet a clear unmet medical need for those whose cancer no longer responds after 4-6 months of treatment with the combination of Abraxane plus gemcitabine. The trial will be open-label and multi-site in nature, with sites in the U.S. and Europe. Patients with LAPC will be randomized equally into two groups. One group will receive gemcitabine chemotherapy alone, and the other group will receive PharmaCyte’s pancreatic cancer therapy (encapsulated genetically modified live human cells that can activate the cancer prodrug ifosfamide plus low doses of the prodrug to eliminate side effects from the chemotherapy). In addition to comparing the anticancer activity and safety of the two therapies, a major aspect of the trial will be to determine if, and how well, PharmaCyte’s therapy can shrink inoperable tumors so that they become operable.