Abbisko Therapeutics Completes the First Patient Dose in the Phase II Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Trial of CSF-1R Inhibitor - Pimicotinib (ABSK021) in China

8 November 2023, Shanghai – Abbisko Therapeutics Co., Ltd. (“Abbisko Therapeutics” hereafter) today announced the first patient has been dosed in  the study titled “A Multicenter, Open-Label Phase II Study To Evaluate The Efficacy And Safety Of ABSK021 In Combination With Chemotherapy With Or Without Toripalimab In Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer ”at the leading site Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine.

Currently, pancreatic cancer is the 7th leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and is the malignant tumor with mortality closest to incidence. Diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is typically challenging, as there are no specific available screening tests and early symptoms are often subtle and atypical. As a result, a significant number of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, lack of the opportunity for radical surgery. Surgical resection is currently the only chance for curing pancreatic cancer. However, more than 80% of pancreatic cancer patients lose this opportunity due to diagnosis at the advanced stage. New breakthroughs in the treatment of pancreatic cancer are urgently needed, and the development of novel therapeutic drugs and approaches represent the hope for overcoming this disease in the future.

Pimicotinib is a novel, orally available, highly selective, and highly potent small molecule inhibitor of CSF-1R independently discovered and developed by Abbisko Therapeutics. A number of studies have shown that blocking the CSF-1R signaling pathway could effectively modulate and change macrophage functions, which helps to remodel the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment.

Pimicotinib obtained the clinical trial approval from the NMPA on 12 June, 2023 for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. The study plans to initiate 16 investigational sites in China, and other sites are planned to be initiated successively, patient recruitment has begun.