Amplia Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ATX) is poised to begin the recruiting for a Phase 2 clinical trial concerning its Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) inhibitor, AMP945, in first-line patients with advanced pancreatic cancer following the receipt of ethics approval from a second Human research Ethics Committee (HREC).
Just last week Amplia received ethics approval to begin recruiting for the trial in New South Wales. This second and final approval allows the company to accelerate recruitment by initiating patients in Victoria.
As no further ethics approvals are pending, Amplia will now turn its attention to the trial’s execution phase.
Tackling a “very dangerous disease”
“This second HREC approval will allow us to recruit patients more rapidly and begin to generate early efficacy and safety results in people with pancreatic cancer,” Amplia Therapeutics CEO and managing director Dr John Lambert said.
“Our focus is now on timely recruitment and execution of a high-quality trial that will support our future development plans for AMP945 in this very dangerous disease.”
Pancreatic cancer is the third deadliest cancer in the US, with as few as 8% of patients surviving five years after diagnosis, and 71% of those diagnosed given a life expectancy of less than one year.
Outcomes for those with pancreatic cancer are further complicated by the lack of symptoms associated with the disease until it reaches advanced stages, complicating diagnosis and reducing life expectancy.