Verastem's defactinib combo leads to PR in pancreatic cancer

Verastem Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) reported data from 15 evaluable patients with refractory solid tumors in the dose-escalation portion of a Phase I trial showing that defactinib (VS-6063) plus PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda pembrolizumab from Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and gemcitabine led to one confirmed partial response in a patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, plus eight cases of stable disease. The data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago.

The combination was well tolerated with no dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) reported. Washington University School of Medicine is sponsoring the open-label, U.S. trial, which also includes a dose-expansion portion in 20 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma...