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news.Aphton Corporation's shares have plunged by nearly 46% after its investigational immunotherapy, Insegia, failed to improve overall survival in patients with pancreatic cancer in a phase III study.
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Insegia is an investigational therapeutic immunotherapy directed at the growth hormone gastrin. This study randomized 383 previously untreated patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, to receive Insegia plus gemcitabine (Eli Lilly’s Gemzar) versus gemcitabine alone.
Although Insegia plus chemotherapy did not meet the trial’s primary efficacy endpoint, encouraging survival results were observed in patients who received an antibody response.
“These patients demonstrated prolonged survival over patients treated in the control arm with chemotherapy alone, as well as over patients who did not achieve an antibody response,” Dr Patrick Mooney, CEO of Aphton, explained.
Results from this study will be used to help design future trials of Insegia plus chemotherapy. Aphton also believes the results support applications for Insegia as a potential monotherapy for patients for whom chemotherapy is not an option.