ASLAN Pharmaceuticals to Present Positive varlitinib Data in First-Line Biliary Tract Cancer in Combination With Chemotherapy at ASCO GI

ASLAN Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ASLN,TPEx:6497), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company targeting cancers that are both highly prevalent in Asia and orphan indications in the United States and Europe, today announced positive data from an ongoing multicentre phase 1b/2 clinical trial (ASLAN001-007) of varlitinib plus gemcitabine and cisplatin (gem/cis) in first-line biliary tract cancer (BTC).

As quoted in the press release:

Varlitinib in combination with gem/cis has been well tolerated in BTC patients and the data also demonstrate increased activity of varlitinib in combination with gem/cis compared to gem/cis alone. The data will be presented during a poster presentation at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI) in San Francisco on 18 January 2019.

Dr Carl Firth, Chief Executive Officer, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, said: “The responses we have seen with varlitinib in this clinical trial are impressive, especially when compared to historical data for the current standard of care, gem/cis for biliary tract cancer. Apart from combination chemotherapy, no progress has been made in the development of new treatment options for BTC patients. Based on these early results, varlitinib is demonstrating its potential to be the first targeted therapy in BTC, a disease with a poor prognosis.”

As of 26 November 2018, the data cut-off date, 21 patients with advanced or metastatic BTC who had not received prior systemic therapy were enrolled in the phase 1b part of the trial. Patients received oral varlitinib twice daily (BID) at a dose of either 200mg or 300mg plus gemcitabine (1000mg/m2) and cisplatin (25mg/m2) on days one and eight of a three-week cycle.

Click here to read the full press release.