OncoMed set for Phase 2 trial of pancreatic cancer drug

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Monday announced it has completed patient enrollment in its Phase 2 ALPINE clinical trial of tarextumab for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

More than eight months ahead of schedule, the study enrolled 177 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who have not received treatment. Enrollment in the clinical study began in July 2014.

"We are encouraged to have accrued patients in this expanded trial over eight months ahead of our original projections and by the enthusiasm of the ALPINE investigators for the potential of tarextumab in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer," Jakob Dupont, chief medical officer of OncoMed, said.

The Phase 2 ALPINE trial will evaluate the efficacy of tarextumab in combination with Abraxane plus gemcitabine in patients with previously untreated Stage IV pancreatic cancer.

"The Notch pathway is a key biological pathway in pancreatic cancer that is associated with poor survival outcomes for patients,” Eileen O'Reilly, associate director for clinical research at the Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said. “The ALPINE trial will help us determine whether the novel antibody tarextumab, which targets the Notch pathway, can provide clinical benefit for patients with pancreatic cancer that need better treatments, and whether the companion Notch3 biomarker can help identify the patients who might derive greater benefit with tarextumab treatment."