Actuate Therapeutics Announces Details for 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting Presentation on Topline Elraglusib Phase 2 Data in First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer
- Phase 2 trial met primary endpoint with statistically significant improvement in survival rates
- Demonstrated increased Objective Response Rates (ORR) and Disease Control Rates (DCR)
- Large-scale trial with 286 patients shows promising results in first-line treatment
- Multiple mechanism of action through GSK-3β inhibition, enhancing chemotherapy effectiveness
- None.
Insights
Elraglusib met Phase 2 primary endpoints with statistically significant survival benefits in metastatic pancreatic cancer, a notoriously difficult-to-treat disease.
The Phase 2 Actuate-1801 Part 3B clinical trial results for elraglusib represent a significant achievement in the challenging landscape of pancreatic cancer treatment. The trial demonstrated statistically significant improvements in both median overall survival and 1-year survival rates when elraglusib was combined with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (GnP) compared to GnP alone in previously untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) patients.
This is particularly noteworthy because mPDAC has one of the poorest prognoses among solid tumors, with conventional treatments offering limited survival benefits. Achieving statistical significance in survival endpoints in a Phase 2 trial with 286 patients (randomized 2:1) is quite remarkable. The combination therapy also showed improvements in Objective Response Rates (ORR) and Disease Control Rates (DCR), suggesting meaningful clinical activity.
The mechanism of elraglusib, a GSK-3β inhibitor, appears to work through multiple complementary pathways: enhancing chemotherapy effectiveness, activating innate anti-tumor immunity, and regulating gene expression to alter tumor metabolism and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). This multi-modal approach may explain its efficacy in this difficult-to-treat cancer.
The company is also presenting machine learning and statistical prediction data from plasma biomarkers, suggesting they're developing methods for patient enrichment strategies - a crucial advancement that could help identify which patients are most likely to benefit from this treatment.
The involvement of prestigious cancer centers (Mayo Clinic, Northwestern, University of Arizona, and Massachusetts General Hospital) and the selection for oral presentation at ASCO further validates the significance of these findings in the oncology community.
- Phase 2 (Actuate-1801 Part 3B) trial topline results meet primary endpoint of improved survival in previously untreated patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC)
- Oral presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting to highlight statistically significant improvement in median overall survival and 1-year survival rate in patients treated with the combination of elraglusib and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (GnP) compared to GnP alone
- Company to host KOL event on May 31, 2025, to review data presented
CHICAGO and FORT WORTH, Texas, May 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Actuate Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACTU) (“Actuate” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for the treatment of high-impact, difficult-to-treat cancers through the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β), today announced the online publication of the abstract accepted as an oral presentation at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, to take place May 30-June 3, in Chicago, Illinois.
The oral presentation will highlight topline Phase 2 (Actuate-1801 Part 3B) data of elraglusib in combination with GnP in first-line mPDAC and will be presented by Devalingam Mahalingam, MD, PhD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The topline data demonstrate clinically meaningful and consistent improvements across primary efficacy measures compared to treatment with GnP alone and reinforce the potential of elraglusib to address key unmet needs in this patient population.
The published abstract describes preliminary results reported in December 2024, demonstrating that treatment with elraglusib in combination with GnP resulted in statistically significant increases in 1-year survival rate and median overall survival versus treatment with GnP alone. The combination treatment also resulted in increased Objective Response Rates (ORR) and Disease Control Rates (DCR) in the elraglusib/GnP combination arm versus the GnP control arm.
“Metastatic PDAC patients are known to have poor prognosis,” said Daniel Schmitt, President & Chief Executive Officer of Actuate. “Reaching statistical significance in increased survival in a Phase 2 trial of this scale is an exceptional achievement and speaks to the strength of elraglusib’s clinical activity. The data have only grown more compelling with time, and we believe this positions elraglusib as one of the most promising emerging therapies in mPDAC, and as a highly valuable, late-stage asset with clear regulatory and significant commercial potential. We are incredibly excited to have the topline dataset presented at ASCO.”
ASCO Presentations Details:
Abstract Title: Preliminary results from the randomized phase 2 study (1801 Part 3B) of elraglusib in combination with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (GnP) versus GnP alone in patients (pts) with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC).
Abstract Number: 4006
Session Title: Gastrointestinal Cancer—Gastroesophageal, Pancreatic, and Hepatobiliary
Presenter: Devalingam Mahalingam, MD, PhD
Oral Presentation Date and Time: Saturday, May 31, 2025, 4:48 PM CDT
Abstract Title: Machine learning and statistical prediction of overall survival (OS) from pre-dose plasma biomarkers in a randomized phase 2 trial (1801 Part 3B) of the GSK-3 inhibitor elraglusib in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC): Application toward patient enrichment.
Abstract Number: 4185
Session Title: Gastrointestinal Cancer—Gastroesophageal, Pancreatic, and Hepatobiliary
Poster Presentation Date and Time: Saturday, May 31, 2025, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CDT
The abstracts are available on the ASCO website at https://conferences.asco.org/am/abstracts
KOL Event
Actuate will host a KOL event for the investment community on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at 6:30 PM CDT to review the data. The webinar will feature a fireside discussion moderated by Daniel Schmitt, President & Chief Executive Officer of Actuate, and will include four distinguished KOLs: Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, FACP, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Devalingam Mahalingam, MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, FASCO, University of Arizona Cancer Center, and Colin Weekes, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital.
| Event Details: | |
| Date and Time: | Saturday, May 31, 2025, at 6:30 pm CDT |
| Format: | In-person and via live webcast |
| Registration: | Click here |
A replay of the event will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Actuate website.
The Actuate-1801 Part 3B study (NCT03678883) is a randomized, controlled Phase 2 trial of elraglusib with GnP versus GnP alone in first-line mPDAC. The trial enrolled 286 mPDAC patients with no prior systemic treatment for metastatic disease, who were randomized 2:1 to the elraglusib treatment arm (elraglusib + GnP) or the control arm (GnP alone). Elraglusib is administered at a dose of 9.3 mg/kg by IV infusion on Day 1 of each week of a 28-day cycle. The primary endpoint for this study is median overall survival, with OS summarized throughout the study by estimates of 1-year survival. Secondary endpoints are DCR, ORR, PFS, and AE.
Inhibition of GSK-3β may inhibit tumor growth and improve survival through several complimentary mechanisms that include enhancement of chemotherapy activity, activation of innate anti-tumor immunity, and regulation of gene expression, leading to alterations in tumor metabolism and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT).
About Actuate Therapeutics, Inc.
Actuate is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for the treatment of high-impact, difficult-to-treat cancers. Actuate’s lead investigational drug, elraglusib (a novel GSK-3β inhibitor), targets molecular pathways in cancer that are involved in promoting tumor growth and resistance to conventional cancer drugs such as chemotherapy through the inhibition of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB) and DNA Damage Response (DDR). Elraglusib may also mediate anti-tumor immunity through the regulation of multiple immune checkpoints and immune cell function. For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at http://www.actuatetherapeutics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements about us, including our and other parties’ clinical trials and development plans, and our industry. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements, other than statements related to present facts or current conditions or of historical facts, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Accordingly, these statements involve estimates, assumptions, substantial risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in them, including but not limited to that preliminary and unpublished data may be subject to change and further interpretation following the availability of more data or following a more comprehensive review of the data and should not be relied upon as a final analysis; clinical and preclinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain timelines and outcomes, results of prior preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results, and elraglusib may not achieve positive clinical results or favorable preclinical results or receive regulatory approval on a timely basis, if at all; that we may not successfully enroll additional patients or establish or advance plans for further development, including through conversations with the FDA or EMA and the standards such bodies may impose for such development; that elraglusib could be associated with side effects, adverse events or other properties or safety risks, which could delay or preclude regulatory approval, cause us to suspend or discontinue clinical trials or result in other negative consequences; our reliance on third parties to conduct our non-clinical studies and our clinical trials; our reliance on third-party licensors and ability to preserve and protect our intellectual property rights; that we face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies; our ability to fund development activities, including because our financial condition raises substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern and we require additional capital to finance our operations beyond the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital in the near term on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our development programs, commercialization efforts or other operations. In addition, any forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 13, 2025 and other filings with the SEC. Because the risk factors referred to above could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which factors will arise. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Unless legally required, we do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Investor Contact
Mike Moyer
Managing Director
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
mmoyer@lifesciadvisors.com
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