Pfizer: Potential cachexia cancer drug shows life-saving promise

Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A drug that could reduce the risk of death in cancer patients is showing good promise during its second phase of clinical tests, drugmaker Pfizer announced Saturday.

The experimental drug ponsegromab is a monoclonal antibody that treats the growth factor that leads to the growth of cancer cells, which is called cachexia, Pfizer said in a news release Saturday.

"Cachexia is a common condition in cancer patients associated with weight loss, functional decline and, ultimately, poor outcomes," said Dr. Jeffrey Crawford, principal investigator and George Barth Geller professor for research at the Duke Cancer Institute.

"This study showed us those who received ponsegromab had improvement in body weight, muscle mass, quality of life and physical function," Crawford said. "These findings offer hope that a breakthrough in targeted treatment is potentially on the horizon for our patients."

Cachexia is a common cancer complication that increases the risk of death, according to the Pfizer study published Saturday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Cachexia commonly causes growth of cancer cells while causing weight loss, appetite suppression and energy loss in people stricken with cancer.

It affects about 9 million people globally and causes the death of about 80% of cancer patients within a year of the diagnosis of cachexia.

The second phase of clinical studies involved 187 patients, 74 with non-small-cell lung cancer, 59 with pancreatic cancer and 54 with colorectal cancer.

Patients were given ponsegromab or a placebo, and those given the experimental drug showed significantly better weight gain, increased appetite and improved physical activity.

Patients given the drug had three different doses at four-week intervals. In all doses, they gained weight.

"These results provide strong evidence that we have unlocked a mechanism to interrupt a critical driver of cachexia," Charlotte Allerton, head of Discovery and Early Development at Pfizer, said.

Allerton said ponsegromab "has the potential to impact patients with [the] cancer cachexia and other life-threatening conditions."

Given the promising results of the second phase ponsegromab testing, Pfizer officials said they intend to start registration-enabling studies in 2025.

They also are looking into a second-phase study of the drug for possibly treating patients with heart failure and elevated concentrations of the growth factor that causes cachexia and other health complications.