Can-Fite Reports Positive Clinical Observation in Phase 2a Pancreatic Cancer Study and Highlights Namodenoson’s RAS Signaling Inhibition Mechanism
Rhea-AI Summary
Can-Fite (NYSE American:TASE: CANF) reported encouraging clinical observations from its ongoing Phase 2a pancreatic cancer study of namodenoson. Enrollment is completed and several patients showed prolonged disease control, including one on therapy and follow-up for about 16 months. Namodenoson modulates RAS, Wnt/β-catenin and NF-κB pathways and, according to Can-Fite, has shown a favorable safety profile across clinical programs, aligning with growing interest in RAS pathway inhibition for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Positive
- Phase 2a pancreatic cancer trial enrollment completed
- Several patients showed prolonged disease control on namodenoson
- One patient remained on therapy and follow-up for about 16 months
- Namodenoson targets RAS, Wnt/β-catenin and NF-κB pathways
- Favorable safety profile observed across namodenoson clinical programs
Negative
- None.
News Market Reaction – CANF
On the day this news was published, CANF declined 4.01%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +8.2% during that session. Our momentum scanner triggered 3 alerts that day, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility. This price movement removed approximately $290K from the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $6.94M at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
Biotech peers show mixed moves, with names like ADAP (-17.57%) and NXTC (-51.44%) sharply lower while BIVI is modestly higher (+2.09%). With sector scanners flagging only downward momentum in a couple of peers and no same-direction cluster, CANF’s setup appears more stock-specific than sector-driven.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18 | Veterinary data & deal | Positive | -3.0% | Peer-reviewed canine osteoarthritis data and validation of up to $325M licensing deal. |
| May 13 | Pancreatic Phase 2b plan | Positive | +7.4% | Plans for Namodenoson Phase 2b combo in pancreatic cancer after encouraging Phase 2a data. |
| Apr 30 | Pancreatic Phase 2a data | Positive | +6.7% | Positive Namodenoson Phase 2a pancreatic data with 35% of patients remaining on therapy. |
| Mar 30 | Dog osteoarthritis trial | Positive | -4.1% | Phase 2 canine osteoarthritis enrollment completion and Vetbiolix license of up to $325M. |
| Mar 26 | 2025 results & pipeline | Neutral | +1.9% | Full-year 2025 financials with net loss and confirmation of advancing liver and oncology programs. |
Positive news has produced mixed reactions: some clinically focused releases saw gains, while others—including partnership and canine osteoarthritis updates—were met with selloffs despite constructive content.
Over the past months, Can-Fite has highlighted multiple clinical milestones. Positive Phase 2a data in pancreatic cancer on Apr 30 and a follow-on Phase 2b combination plan on May 13 both saw favorable price reactions. Veterinary progress with piclidenoson and a potentially $325M Vetbiolix deal drew more muted or negative moves, as did a peer-reviewed canine osteoarthritis publication on May 18. The 2025 results on Mar 26 combined advancing oncology programs with a reported net loss, producing only a modest uptick.
Regulatory & Risk Context
An effective Form F-3 resale registration permits selling shareholders to resell up to 3,294,898 ordinary shares represented by 1,647,449 ADSs. The company would only receive proceeds if New Warrants and Placement Agent Warrants with a $5.00 per ADS exercise price are exercised for cash, which would total approximately $8.01M at full exercise.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement underscores Namodenoson’s differentiated approach in pancreatic cancer, combining inhibition of RAS, Wnt/β-catenin, and NF-κB pathways with encouraging Phase 2a disease-control observations, including one patient treated for about 16 months. Recent history shows repeated positive pancreatic data releases and a broader oncology pipeline. Investors may track upcoming full efficacy readouts, additional RAS-focused data emerging from conferences, and any further use of the existing F-3 resale registration and warrants structure.
Key Terms
kras medical
pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (pdac) medical
wnt/β-catenin medical
nf-κb medical
apoptosis medical
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Growing momentum for RAS inhibition at ASCO highlights Namodenoson’s RAS pathway inhibition and encouraging data in pancreatic cancer
Ramat Gan, Israel, June 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE: CANF), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases, today highlighted the differentiated mechanism of action of namodenoson in pancreatic cancer, including inhibition of the RAS signaling pathway, alongside encouraging clinical observations from its ongoing Phase 2a pancreatic cancer study.
Recent presentations and publications emerging from the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting have reinforced the importance of targeting RAS-driven malignancies, particularly pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), where KRAS mutations and downstream RAS activation are central drivers of tumor growth and therapeutic resistance. Can-Fite previously reported preclinical findings demonstrating that namodenoson exerts potent anti-tumor activity in pancreatic cancer through a multi-pathway mechanism involving deregulation of the RAS, Wnt/β-catenin, and NF-κB signaling pathways, leading to apoptosis and marked inhibition of tumor growth.
The Company also reported encouraging clinical observations from its Phase 2a study of namodenoson as a monotherapy in pancreatic cancer. Enrollment has been completed and several patients have demonstrated prolonged disease control, including one patient who has remained on therapy and follow-up for approximately 16 months.
“Growing clinical validation of RAS inhibition in pancreatic cancer supports the relevance of the pathway that namodenoson was shown to modulate in our preclinical work,” said Pnina Fishman, Chairperson and CSO of Can-Fite BioPharma. “Importantly, namodenoson offers a differentiated approach through simultaneous targeting of RAS, Wnt/β-catenin and NF-κB signaling pathways together with a favorable safety profile observed across clinical programs. The durable observation in our pancreatic study further encourages continued development of namodenoson in this highly aggressive malignancy.”
Pancreatic cancer remains among the most lethal malignancies, with limited treatment options and poor long-term survival. Approximately
About Namodenoson
Namodenoson is a highly selective A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) agonist, which has shown a compelling safety profile and demonstrated anti-tumor activity in preclinical pancreatic cancer models. The drug is also being evaluated in clinical trials for advanced liver cancer.
Namodenoson has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
About Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd.
Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE: CANF) is an advanced clinical stage drug development Company with a platform technology that is designed to address multi-billion dollar markets in the treatment of cancer, liver, and inflammatory disease. The Company’s lead drug candidate, Piclidenoson recently reported topline results in a Phase 3 trial for psoriasis and commenced a pivotal Phase 3 trial. Can-Fite’s liver drug, Namodenoson, is being evaluated in a Phase III trial for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a Phase 2b trial for the treatment of MASH, and in a Phase 2a study in pancreatic cancer. Namodenoson has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. and Europe and Fast Track Designation as a second line treatment for HCC by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Namodenoson has also shown proof of concept to potentially treat other cancers including colon, prostate, and melanoma. CF602, the Company’s third drug candidate, has shown efficacy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. These drugs have an excellent safety profile with experience in over 1,600 patients in clinical studies to date. For more information please visit: www.canfite.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, about Can-Fite’s expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding, among other things, its product development efforts and prospects for generating meaningful efficacy data. All statements in this communication, other than those relating to historical facts, are “forward looking statements”. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “should” or “anticipate” or their negatives or other variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it discusses the completion of the offerings, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the offerings and the intended use of proceeds therefrom. Forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results as of the date they are made. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Can-Fite’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, among other things, our market and other conditions, history of losses and needs for additional capital to fund our operations and our inability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; uncertainties of cash flows and inability to meet working capital needs; the initiation, timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies, clinical trials and other product candidate development efforts; our ability to advance our product candidates into clinical trials or to successfully complete our preclinical studies or clinical trials; our receipt of regulatory approvals for our product candidates, and the timing of other regulatory filings and approvals; the clinical development, commercialization and market acceptance of our product candidates; our ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships and other corporate collaborations; the implementation of our business model and strategic plans for our business and product candidates; the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; competitive companies, technologies and our industry; risks related to not satisfying the continued listing requirements of NYSE American; and statements as to the impact of the political and security situation in Israel on our business. More information on these risks, uncertainties and other factors is included from time to time in the “Risk Factors” section of Can-Fite’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 26, 2026 and other public reports filed with the SEC and in its periodic filings with the TASE. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Can-Fite undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.
Contact
Can-Fite BioPharma
Motti Farbstein
info@canfite.com
+972-3-9241114
