Study of the Safety and Efficacy of TH-302 in Combination With Gemcitabine Compared With Gemcitabine Alone in Previously Untreated Patients With Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

A hypoxic microenvironment is a characteristic of many solid tumors including pancreatic cancer. The presence of hypoxia in solid tumors is associated with a more malignant phenotype and resistance to chemotherapy. The hypoxia-activated prodrug, TH-302, is designed to selectively physiologically target the hypoxic microenvironment. There is an absence of therapeutic options for subjects with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Gemcitabine provides clinical benefit as a single agent, but median survival is about 6 months. Combining gemcitabine with TH-302 may enable the targeting of both the normoxic and hypoxic regions of pancreatic cancer.