Ability begins promising clinical trial to fight pancreatic cancer

Vall d'Hebron Hospital and the American University of Cincinnati Medical Center have simultaneously initiated the phase 2b clinical trial that will allow to evaluate the efficacy of the new anticancer compound developed by the Catalan Ability Pharmaceuticals in the fight against advanced pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly that exists. The ABTLO812 compound has already begun to be administered to the first patients in these two hospital centers, which will soon be joined by fourteen more hospitals located in the United States (four centers in total), Spain (6), France (3) and Israel (3). In total, 150 patients will participate in this international study, on which many hopes are placed and which was authorized by the American and European drug agencies last November.

The objective of the biotechnology company chaired by Dr. Carles Domènech is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the ABTLO812 molecule in combination with Folfirinox chemotherapy as a first-line treatment in patients with advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer. Half of the patients will receive chemotherapy plus a placebo and the other half chemotherapy plus ABTLO812.

The study is partially financed by the European Commission and by the powerful US drug agency, the FDA. Specifically, the European Horizon 2020 program contributes 5 million euros, while the FDA has granted a subsidy of 2 million dollars to the project considering that it can represent a great advance to fight against a disease that is considered orphan, since, beyond chemotherapy, there are no effective and safe therapies. The drug developed by the Barcelona-based company is a totally differentiated oral anticancer compound that causes cell death by autophagy or self-digestion.

The results of the clinical trial will be known at the end of 2022 and if it is confirmed that ABTLO812 is a valid drug against pancreatic cancer we could be facing one of the greatest recent successes of Catalan science, since the molecule could be sold to a large pharmaceutical company that could pay between 300 million and 500 million euros to Ability Pharma to be able to commercialize it.

"Pancreatic cancer is one of the tumor types with the most unfortunate prognosis and with fewer therapeutic alternatives. The launch of this study with the ABTLO812 molecule in combination with Folfirinox is very good news, as it could improve the results that chemotherapy treatment has given us so far," explains Dr. Teresa Macarulla, principal investigator of the gastrointestinal and endocrine tumors group at Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO). Macarulla is also the principal investigator of this clinical trial in Spain.

Previously, this molecule had already obtained positive results in patients with endometrial and lung cancer, but now all efforts have focused on pancreatic tumors, as it will allow addressing an unmet medical need, as Dr. Domènech recalls. "We are very happy to have reached this important development milestone," highlights the president and scientific director of the company, whose shareholders include Inveready and the Chinese company SciClone Pharmaceuticals, among others.