Can-Fite Biopharma Stock Surges 65% on Encouraging Pancreatic Cancer Data
Phase 2a results for Namodenoson show durable survival and a clean safety profile in patients who had exhausted standard treatments
Can-Fite Biopharma Ltd ADR (NYSE American: CANF) rocketed higher on Wednesday, with shares jumping 65% after the company reported positive results from its Phase 2a study of Namodenoson in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
What the Study Found
The trial hit its primary safety endpoint and delivered durable survival outcomes in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who had already progressed on standard therapies. Importantly, the drug proved well tolerated, posting a safety profile consistent with earlier trials.
The open-label study enrolled 20 patients. Of those, 14 received Namodenoson as a third-line treatment, five took it as a second-line option, and one received it as a fourth-line therapy.
Survival Signals Stand Out
The survival data drove much of the enthusiasm. In an updated analysis of eight evaluable third-line patients who survived at least two months after starting treatment, median overall survival topped five months. Moreover, 62.5% of these patients lived five months or longer, and 37.5% survived seven months or longer. Two patients remained alive at the data cutoff.
The second-line group produced an even more striking result. Among the five patients treated at that stage, one patient was still alive more than 18 months after beginning Namodenoson therapy — the longest survivor in the entire study.
What the Lead Investigator Says
Prof. Salomon Stemmer, who leads the Phase 2a study at the Davidoff Institute of Oncology, Rabin Medical Center in Israel, framed the results as a meaningful step forward.
“Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most difficult malignancies to treat, particularly after failure of standard therapies,” he said. “The results of Namodenoson monotherapy are impressive and the favorable safety profile together with the prolonged survival observed in a subgroup of patients, suggest biological activity worthy of further investigation. Based on these findings and the growing preclinical evidence demonstrating enhancement of chemotherapy activity, I believe the next logical step is evaluation of Namodenoson in combination with chemotherapy.”
What Comes Next
Can-Fite is already charting that path. Building on these findings — and on preclinical data showing that Namodenoson enhances the anti-tumor activity of chemotherapeutic agents in pancreatic cancer models — the company plans to advance the drug into a Phase 2b combination study alongside chemotherapy.
About Can-Fite: Can-Fite Biopharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing small-molecule drugs targeting cancer, liver, and inflammatory diseases. Learn more at www.canfite.com.
