Amplia Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ATX) says researchers at the Garvan Institute have shown that drug candidate AMP945 is able to improve the effectiveness of a combination of gemcitabine and Abraxane® in a model of human pancreatic cancer.
The biotechnology company, which is developing new approaches for the treatment of cancer and fibrosis, previously reported that the addition of a pre-treatment with AMP945 to a regimen of the standard chemotherapy drugs gemcitabine and Abraxane® resulted in a 27% improvement in survival in the aggressive KPC mouse model of pancreatic cancer.
In the latest study, cancer cells derived from a human pancreas cancer were transplanted into the pancreas of laboratory mice. Once pancreatic tumours were established, mice were treated either with gemcitabine/Abraxane® or AMP945 in combination with gemcitabine/Abraxane®.
Key findings
The upshot of the study results is that:
- AMP945 improves effectiveness of current standard of care in an animal model using human pancreatic cancer cells;
- Addition of AMP945 pre-treatment to gemcitabine/Abraxane® chemotherapy regimen increased survival by 33%; and
- Confirmation in a second animal model further validates the rationale and design of a Phase 2 clinical trial of AMP945 in first line pancreatic cancer patients.
Commenting on the result, Professor Paul Timpson of the Garvan Institute said: “We have run this model on several occasions using different FAK inhibitors and now with AMP945.
“This result clearly shows that AMP945 increases survival in this model and is likely superior to other FAK inhibitors we have tested.”
Compelling data from mice
In this experiment, the median survival time of untreated mice was 68 days, while mice treated with gemcitabine/Abraxane® alone exhibited a median survival time of 122 days.
Mice treated with a combination of AMP945 and gemcitabine/Abraxane® had a median survival time of 163 days, representing a statistically significant 33% increase in median survival (P ≤ 0.05), relative to gemcitabine/Abraxane® alone.
“Working with our collaborators at the Garvan, we have shown that AMP945 can improve the current standard of care in a second model of pancreatic cancer and provide further validation of the approach we will use in our Phase 2 clinical trial that is expected to start early in the second quarter,” said Amplia CEO John Lambert.
“These data are particularly compelling as AMP945 has been used to treat tumours that have formed from human pancreatic cancer cells.
"Aside from actually running the clinical trial, this is the most compelling translational evidence we could have to support the approach we are taking.”