Ability Pharmaceuticals continues with the clinical development for ABTL0812 as a first line therapy in advanced pancreatic cancer simultaneously in US, Europe, and Israel

The biopharma Ability Pharmaceuticals continues with the clinical development of ABTL0812, a first-in-class oral targeted anticancer drug inducing cytotoxic autophagy selectively in cancer cells, with positive results available from a phase 2a clinical trial in endometrial and lung cancer, and currently performing a phase 2b in pancreatic cancer.

The clinical trial will assess the safety and efficacy profile of ABTL0812 in combination with FOLFIRINOX in 150 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer as first-line treatment. The study started simultaneously at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and the Vall d’Hebrón Institute of Oncology (VHIO) with well-known key opinion leaders as principal investigators. In total, the study will include sixteen centers: four in the US, six in Spain, three in France and three in Israel. 

The study is partially fund by the European Commission for the EIC Accelerator Pilot Program within the Horizon 2020 framework agreement with 5 million euros, and a grant of over 2 M from the R01 US NIH Program, managed by the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development.

“ABTL0812 showed a good efficacy profile in preclinical studies in pancreatic cancer, which gives a solid base to start the study in humans. Besides, the product has shown a high safety in patients in the previous clinical studies performed”, clearly stated Dr. Carles Domènech, Executive Chairman and CSO of Ability Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Jose Alfón, Vice president for R&D added: “This phase 2b study of ABTL0812 combined with FOLFIRINOX is a huge step in the development of therapies for patients with pancreatic cancer and opens new therapeutic perspectives for this devastating disease”.