US Clinical Trial Activities for Narmafotinib Now Underway
Released
Released
Announcement PDF
ABN 16 165 160 841
ASX RELEASE
9 April 2025
US CLINICAL TRIAL ACTIVITIES FOR NARMAFOTINIB NOW UNDERWAY
HIGHLIGHTS
•
Trial initiation activities for the Company’s new pancreatic cancer trial have begun
•
A multinational CRO has been engaged to coordinate and manage the trial
•
Manufacture of drug product for exclusive use in the trial has been completed
•
This trial explores the combination of narmafotinib with the chemotherapy FOLFIRINOX in
advanced pancreatic cancer patients
Melbourne, Australia: Amplia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: ATX), (“Amplia” or the “Company”), is
pleased to announce that trial initiation activities for the planned pancreatic cancer trial in the US have
begun. This new trial will explore the combination of the Company’s best-in-class FAK inhibitor
narmafotinib with the chemotherapy FOLFIRINOX in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. This
trial will be run under the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for narmafotinib cleared by the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year 1.
FOLFIRINOX is widely used as the first-line treatment for pancreatic cancer patients in the US, as well
as parts of Europe. This chemotherapy, which consists of a mixture of four separate drugs, is different
to the gemcitabine + Abraxane® chemotherapy routinely used in Australia and currently being
employed in the Company’s ACCENT trial. FOLFIRINOX is often associated with greater haematological
toxicity, however patient response (as measured by progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival
(OS)) is generally accepted to be slightly improved over gemcitabine and Abraxane (see Table).
PFS (months)
OS (months)
Gemcitabine + Abraxane (MPACT trial 2)
5.5
8.5
Gemcitabine + Abraxane (NAPOLI trial 3)
5.6
9.2
FOLFIRINOX 4
6.4
11.1
The Company has now formally entered into an agreement with a large multinational contract
research organization (CRO) to coordinate clinical trial activities in the US. As part of this foundational
work, clinical trial sites at selected major hospitals across the US have been approached to participate
in the trial. To ensure timely recruitment for the trial, the Company has elected to also include a small
number of trials sites in Australia. Up to seven (7) clinical trial sites may be engaged to commence
recruitment once all approvals have been obtained.
ASX Release 18 Jan 2024
New Engl. J. Med. 2013, vol. 369, p. 1691-1703
3
Lancet. 2023, Vol 402, p. 1272-1281
4
New Engl. J. Med. 2011, vol. 364, p. 1817-1825
1
2
Level 17, 350 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Email info@ampliatx.com
www.ampliatx.com
To support the dose-escalation phase of this trial, the manufacture of a large batch of drug product
has been completed at our US-based Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization. For this
trial, as with the ACCENT trial, drug is administered orally as formulated capsules.
Amplia CEO and MD Dr Chris Burns commented: “We are extremely excited to have signed up a worldclass CRO to coordinate running this trial and to have started engaging with trial sites. This represents
an important next step in the development of narmafotinib by exploring the potential of the drug in
combination with another widely used pancreatic cancer treatment.”
This ASX announcement was approved and authorised for release by the Board of Amplia
Therapeutics.
About Narmafotinib
Narmafotinib (AMP945) is the company’s best-in-class inhibitor of the protein FAK, a protein overexpressed in pancreatic cancer and a drug target gaining increasing attention for its role in solid
tumours. The drug, which is a highly potent and selective inhibitor of FAK, has shown promising data
in a range of preclinical cancer studies. Narmafotinib is currently undergoing a clinical trial (the ACCENT
trial) where it is dosed in combination with the chemotherapies gemcitabine and Abraxane in first-line
patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
About the FOLFIRINOX Trial
Narmafotinib, in combination with the modified FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy regimen, will explore the
safety, tolerability, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of the combination in newly-diagnosed patients
with advanced (metastatic) pancreatic cancer. The trial is entitled ‘A Phase 1b/2a, Multicenter, Open
Label Study of the Safety, Efficacy and Pharmacokinetics of narmafotinib in Combination with
modified FOLFIRINOX in Pancreatic Cancer Patients’ and is being conducted under an open IND from
the US FDA.
Designed as a single-arm, open-label study, the trial will proceed in two parts, incorporating the
principles of the FDA's Project Optimus guidance for developing new oncology therapies 5. Part A will
explore a range of doses of narmafotinib (AMP945), taken once daily in combination with modified
FOLFIRINOX administered every 14 days, for safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics.
Part B of the trial is designed to identify the optimal daily dose of narmafotinib for future studies, by
comparing two (2) doses identified from Part A, for safety, tolerability and efficacy.
The trial is being conducted initially at sites in the US and Australia.
The Company has previously presented data from preclinical studies demonstrating that the addition
of narmafotinib to FOLFIRINOX improves survival in animal models of pancreatic cancer compared to
animals treated with FOLFIRINOX alone.
The Company will provide further updates on the trial as activity progresses.
Investor Contact:
Dr Chris Burns
Chief Executive Officer
chris@ampliatx.com
Media Contact:
H^CK Director, Haley Chartres
haley@hck.digital
+61 423 139 163
About Amplia Therapeutics Limited
Amplia Therapeutics Limited is an Australian pharmaceutical company advancing a pipeline of Focal
Adhesion Kinase (FAK) inhibitors for cancer and fibrosis. FAK is an increasingly important target in the
field of cancer and Amplia has a particular development focus in fibrotic cancers such as pancreatic
5
https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/oncology-center-excellence/project-optimus
and ovarian cancer. FAK also plays a significant role in a number of chronic diseases, such as idiopathic
pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). For more information visit www.ampliatx.com and follow Amplia on Twitter
(@ampliatx) and LinkedIn.
Share your feedback
Discover