Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a cancer of the exocrine cells of the pancreas. In the U.S. in 2020, approximately 57,600 people were diagnosed with PDAC, and approximately 47,050 died from the disease. It is estimated that by 2030, PDAC will become the second most lethal cancer behind lung cancer.
Because most people are diagnosed with PDAC late in the disease’s progression, survival rates are very low. Typical survival for a metastatic patient is only 3-6 months from diagnosis. Treatment of this disease is hampered by the location of the pancreas, which is difficult to reach with conventional therapies and the fibrotic nature of the tumors, which protects them from penetration by chemotherapeutics. A novel and unconventional therapeutic is needed to overcome these barriers to treatment.
BP1003 is an RNAi nanoparticle containing antisense DNA targeting STAT3, a protein associated with increased PDAC severity and poorer survival in patients with PDAC. Preclinical studies show that BP1003 enhances the efficacy of gemcitabine in mouse models of pancreatic cancer. Bio-Path has initiated IND-enabling studies of BP1003.
In addition, expression of STAT3 has been associated with higher disease severity in numerous other cancers including non-small cell lung (NSCLC) and AML.
A drug that inhibits STAT3 will have significant clinical impact for all solid cancers that have high STAT3 expression or activity.