TH-302 (Threshold/Merck Serono) success in Phase IIb Pancreatic Cancer trial

TH-302 a hypoxia targetted drug from Threshold Pharma/Merck Serono has produced a significant 63% extension in progression-free survival in a Phase IIb study in Pancreatic Cancer. The pancreatic cancer study combined TH-302 with gemcitabine for first-line treatment of advanced disease, with a primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS). The primary efficacy analysis performed on 149 patients showed median PFS of 5.6 months for patients treated with the combination compared with 3.6 months for gemcitabine alone (hazard ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.43-0.87, p=0.005) The response rates in the combination and gemcitabine-only arm were 22% and 12% respectively. Two doses of TH-302 were tested (240mg/m 2 and 340mg/m 2) and there was greater efficacy in the higher dose group.