How effective is IMC-C225?

Answer 1

Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Respond Combination Chemotherapy and IMC-C225

In an interim report of a national Phase II trial led by The University of Texas Cancer Center, a combination of a new biological agent with standard chemotherapy is showing some positive response in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.


Of the 40 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, five patients (12.5 percent), showed a partial response to the combination of the new monoclonal antibody, IMC-C225, with the chemotherapy agent, gemcitabine. In addition, 16 patients (39 percent) who received the combination had disease that stabilized or had a minor response.

"Cancer of the pancreas is a devastating disease. It is one in which gemcitabine, the standard chemotherapy for treatment of this cancer, produces a response rate of less than 10 percent," . "This study suggests that patients who receive chemotherapy with IMC-C225 benefit from the addition of this targeted therapeutic agent."

Phase III trial will be needed to demonstrate how IMC-C225
and chemotherapy will affect long-term survival.

"Thus far, it is an encouraging combination of a less-toxic, specifically-targeted agent combined with a more toxic drug that affects not only cancer cells, but healthy cells as well,"

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The most common adverse reactions reported during the study using gemcitabine and IMC-C225 were nausea, fatigue and an acne-like rash.

cancer of the pancreas is similar in molecular structure to cancers of the colon, esophagus, cervix, prostate, ovaries, kidneys, lungs and head and neck in that there are a high number of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors on the surface of the cancer cells. IMC-C225 targets the EGF receptors, possibly altering their resistance to chemotherapy and breaking down the cancer cells' ability to grow. Of the 54 patients screened for this study, more than 90 percent of them tested positive for EGFr expression.

"This new molecular approach to pancreatic cancer is an exciting one, but the vital next step is to conduct a Phase III trial," "The results of such a trial will tell us if we can have a measurable impact on a devastating disease IMC-C225 is licensed and manufactured by ImClone Systems.