Clinicians at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center reported promising preliminary findings based on outcomes in the first six patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer enrolled in a phase 2 clinical trial of the experimental drug BXCL701 in combination with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda). Immunotherapy drugs alone have not shown to be responsive to pancreatic cancer. The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2024 annual meeting in Chicago on June 1, 2024 (LBA4132).
BXCL701, made by BioXcel Therapeutics, is an oral drug called an immune activator. It acts by inflaming the microenvironment surrounding the tumor and thereby augmenting the activity of immunotherapies like pembrolizumab. BXCL701 has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.
S. Food and Drug Administration in pancreatic cancer and three other cancer types: acute myelogenous leukemia, stage IIb to IV melanoma , and soft tissue sarcoma. Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death.
The 5-year survival rate for all stages of the disease is 13% but there's no early detection method and therefore patients are often diagnosed with later stage disease. For those with disease that has spread beyond the pancreas, the 5-year survival rates are an extremely low 3%. Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease that is difficult to treat with standard methods, including chemotherapy.
Using immunotherapy alone to harness the body's own immun.
