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AbilityPharma: Accelerating Solutions for Pancreatic Cancer

Project description

New drug for the treatment of pancreatic cancer

ABTL0812 is a first-in-class oral targeted anticancer compound developed by Ability Pharmaceuticals, that produces autophagy-mediated cytotoxicity in cancer cells. In preclinical studies, ABTL0812 showed efficacy as a single agent and in combination with standard-of-care treatments in in vitro and in animal models of pancreatic cancer, a disease with an unmet clinical need for new therapies. It induced tumor regression without increasing the toxicity associated with chemotherapy and demonstrated safety and well-tolerated toxicities in the first-in-human phase 1/1b clinical trial. In a phase 1/2a clinical trial in endometrial and lung cancer patients, ABTL0812, in combination with the standard-of-care chemotherapy, demonstrated superiority over chemotherapy alone. The EU-funded PanC-ASAP project will start a phase 2 clinical trial in pancreatic cancer to investigate the new drug in combination with the standard-of-care chemotherapy.

Objective

ABTL0812 is a first-in-class fully differentiated oral targeted anticancer compound that produces autophagy-mediated cytotoxicity selectively in cancer cells.

In preclinical studies, ABTL0812 showed efficacy as a single agent and in combination with current standard-of-care treatments in in vitro and animal models of pancreatic cancer, an orphan disease with an urgent unmet clinical need for new efficacious and safe therapies. Treatment with ABTL0812 induced tumor regression without increasing the toxicity associated with chemotherapy. These results granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to ABTL0812 for pancreatic cancer treatment from the EMA and the FDA.
Moreover, ABTL0812 is a clinical stage drug. A first-in-human phase 1/1b clinical trial, designed to evaluate ABTL0812 in 29 cancer patients with advanced solid tumors, demonstrated that the drug was safe and well tolerated and no dose-limiting toxicities were reported. In addition, two patients showed 14-month and 18-month disease stabilization (TRL7).

AbilityPharma’s objectives for the present project are to complete the next stage of the clinical development of its first drug candidate ABTL0812, a potential game changer in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, and to commercialize the results of the study through a licensing agreement. AbilityPharma will start a phase 2 clinical trial in pancreatic cancer to investigate ABTL0812 in combination with the standard-of-care chemotherapy, which has the potential to address this urgent unmet medical need by providing a safe and efficacious treatment. After finishing the clinical trial (TRL8), we will establish a partnership (licensing deal) with a big pharma partner which will further develop ABTL0812 to make it available to pancreatic cancer patients (TRL9). Finally, once the company has licensed its first candidate, the company will continue focusing in the development of new anti-cancer candidates based on the induction of cytotoxic autophagy in cancer cells.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

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Coordinator

ABILITY PHARMACEUTICALS SA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 325 865,38
Address
EDIFICI EUREKA - CAMPUS DE LA UAB
08193 Barcelona
Spain

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 3 322 666,25
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