Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease and the third leading cause of cancer death. The only chance for cure remains complete surgical removal, but this is impossible for most patients due to advanced local growth or metastatic spread. For inoperable patients, multiple approaches have been attempted to shrink tumor and allow for subsequent resection. Multiagent chemotherapy is utilized in this "neoadjuvant" approach but has met with limited success due to modest activity and significant side effects. By directly targeting tumors, PanTher's novel approach looks to significantly increase drug accumulation at the site, while dramatically reducing systemic side effects to improve antitumor...

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Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease and the third leading cause of cancer death. The only chance for cure remains complete surgical removal, but this is impossible for most patients due to advanced local growth or metastatic spread. For inoperable patients, multiple approaches have been attempted to shrink tumor and allow for subsequent resection. Multiagent chemotherapy is utilized in this "neoadjuvant" approach but has met with limited success due to modest activity and significant side effects. By directly targeting tumors, PanTher's novel approach looks to significantly increase drug accumulation at the site, while dramatically reducing systemic side effects to improve antitumor activity, preserve quality of life and lower overall healthcare costs. In animal models, this technology has demonstrated a 12-fold greater efficacy in controlling progression compared to the same agent given intravenously. PanTher has previously partnered with surgical oncologists at MD Anderson Cancer Center to complete large animal studies and demonstrate the platform to be easily implantable, well tolerated, and able to deliver chemotherapy only to the tumor with no systemic exposure. This work has led to the ongoing first-in-human trial of PTM-101 to assess feasibility and safety in patients with locally advanced disease. Further optimization of the dosing and expansion to phase 1b/2 is the focus of this proposal to assess antitumor activity of PTM-101 in this devastating disease.

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