Merrimack discontinues pancreatic cancer candidate after Phase II miss
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:MACK) reported that first-line treatment with istiratumab (MM-141) missed the primary and secondary endpoints in the Phase II CARRIE trial to treat metastatic pancreatic cancer. The company said it will discontinue the candidate's development and focus on its remaining pipeline.
The double-blind, international trial enrolled 88 previously untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with high serum levels of free insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). On the primary endpoint, istiratumab plus Abraxane nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine did not significantly improve progression-free survival (PFS) vs. Abraxane plus gemcitabine alone. Secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), duration of response and overall survival (OS)...