Taking an unconventional path to market for its targeted therapies for RAS-addicted cancers, Revolution Medicines Inc. secured access to $2 billion in capital to build its own global commercial infrastructure, instead of partnering outside the U.S. as it had originally intended. “We’ve concluded that the best way for us to achieve our goals with our rich pipeline is to direct our own global development and commercial strategies and to operationalize these both inside and outside the U.S. through our own organization,” Mark Goldsmith, president and CEO of Revolution Medicines (Revmed), told investors June 24.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the most lethal cancers and needs innovative therapeutic solutions. Patients with PDAC have a 5-year survival rate of about 12%. To address this need, researchers have developed a Drosophila PDAC model harboring the genetic alterations in the KRAS, CDKN2A, TP53 and SMAD4 genes (4-hit model), which accounts for the worst and most aggressive PDAC with lower survival rates.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a type of cancer characterized by very poor prognosis and resistance to immunotherapy due to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which includes extensive desmoplasia and a dense stroma.
New dose-escalation data from Verastem Oncology’s phase I/II cancer study in China prompted the company to say it was encouraged by the efficacy results. However, investors felt otherwise, as the stock lost about 20% of its value the day the initial results were released.
At the 61st American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, multiple companies presented clinical trial data showing their drugs and devices helped patients with pancreatic cancer live longer or improve their ability to respond to treatment.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive cancer. The more common BRCA wild-type (wt) subtype is particularly resistant to standard treatments such as gemcitabine and DNA-targeting agents like olaparib.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for more than 90% of cases of pancreatic cancer, and prognosis for PDAC remains poor despite treatment advances. One reason is that PDAC downregulates the display of antigens on the surface of tumor cells, helping it evade the patient’s immune system and therapies involving immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Theriva Biologics Inc.’s stroma-targeting oncolytic virus approach yielded positive findings in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, with the top-line readout of phase IIb data showing VCN-01 (zabilugene almadenorepvec) in combination with chemotherapy bested chemotherapy alone on primary and secondary endpoints, which included overall survival.
Early phase I data for Revolution Medicines Inc.’s RAS(ON) G12D-selective inhibitor zoldonrasib encouraged both the company and the analysts. Initial study data produced a 61% objective response rate in 11 solid tumor patients receiving the 1,200-mg dose once a day. The disease control rate for 16 patients came in at 89%.
