Lisata Therapeutics announces preliminary cohort B results from ASCEND trial

The Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group, AGTIG, the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre at the University of Sydney, and Lisata Therapeutics (LSTA), announced positive preliminary Cohort B data from the ASCEND Phase 2b trial in metastatic pancreatic cancer, with AGITG sponsoring the study and Lisata providing funding. Dr. Andrew Dean, Study Chair, is scheduled to present these findings at the European Society for Medical Oncology, ESMO, Gastrointestinal Cancers Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on 2 July, 2025. The ASCEND trial is a 158-patient, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating standard-of-care, SoC, gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel vs SoC plus certepetide or placebo in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, mPDAC. The preliminary data from Cohort B demonstrate a six-month progression-free survival of 60.8% for the certepetide-treated group, whereas the 6MPFS in the placebo-treated group was 25%. Median progression-free survival was 7.5 months for the certepetide-treated group and 4.7 months for the placebo-treated group. Objective response rate was 45.2% for the certepetide-treated group and 19% for the placebo-treated group. Median overall survival was 10.32 months for the certepetide-treated group compared to 9.23 months for the placebo-treated group.