OncoGenex Inititiates Rainier Clinical Trial Evaluating Apatorsen in Combination with ABRAXANE plus Gemcitabine

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

today announced initiation of the Rainier™ clinical trial, an investigator-sponsored, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial evaluating apatorsen (OGX-427) in combination with ABRAXANE® (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension)(albumin-bound) and gemcitabine in patients with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Rainier will randomize approximately 130 patients to receive either apatorsen or placebo in combination with ABRAXANE and gemcitabine therapy. The primary objective of the trial is overall survival (OS), with additional analyses to evaluate progression-free survival (PFS), tumor response rates, safety, tolerability, and the effect of therapy on heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) levels. "Median survival for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer remains desperately low and we need to explore additional strategies to address treatment resistance," stated Johanna Bendell MD, Director of the GI Cancer Research Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI), and a primary investigator on the trial. "We are very excited to open enrollment in the Rainier trial, to explore the role of Hsp27 in pancreatic cancer and to evaluate for the potential ability