Threshold Pharmaceuticals Provides Interim Data on Glioblastoma Treatment

Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:THLD) announced interim data from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of TH-302, an investigational anti-cancer drug, in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin®) for the treatment of glioblastoma.

As quoted in the press release:

All patients in the study had previously progressed on single-agent bevacizumab, the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapy for GBM patients with progressive disease following prior therapy. As reported by the investigator, in a total of 22 evaluable patients, best responses included one complete response and three partial responses for a response rate of 18%, and ten stable disease assessments for a clinical benefit rate of 64%; eight patients had progressive disease. Median progression-free survival was 2.8 months, and median overall survival was 4.6 months.

Dr. Andrew J. Brenner, clinical investigator with the Institute for Drug Development at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center, said:

When bevacizumab fails in the second-line (recurrent disease) setting, patients often continue to receive bevacizumab and another cytotoxic agent. Historically, however, patients experience disease progression in about a month and survive approximately three months on average.

The responses observed in this study are encouraging because they signal activity of TH-302 in combination with bevacizumab in a significant percentage of patients with GBM whose tumors have grown despite prior treatment with single-agent bevacizumab. Of particular note were the responses of those patients with very large tumor burdens, which are historically associated with worse outcomes, who experienced stable disease on the combination therapy for some time before their tumors grew again. Based on these data, our next step is to conduct a larger Phase 2 study to see if these encouraging preliminary findings hold up and whether TH-302 can make a difference for patients with advanced-stage GBM.

Click here to read the full Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:THLD) press release.