AB Science today announced that its masitinib Phase 2B/3 study (AB12003) in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) met its predefined primary endpoint - Seite 2

Prostate cancer is the most common cause of cancer in men, with 137.9 new cases per 100,000 men per year [1]. The estimated prevalence of people living with prostate cancer is 113 per 100,000 [2], with approximately 15% of the patients having metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) eligible to chemotherapy [3]. As such, population with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) eligible to chemotherapy is around 75,000 in the EU and 50,000 in the USA.

Prostate cancer is also the second most common cause of cancer death in men, with the highest rates being in North America, Australia, and Northern and Central Europe. Although the overall 5-year survival rate for prostate cancer is very high, up to 20% of men who undergo state-of-the art treatment for prostate cancer will develop CRPC within 5 years, and at least 84% of these will have metastases at the time of CRPC diagnosis [1]. Practically all patients with metastatic disease become resistant to androgen-deprivation therapy. Median survival for those with mCRPC ranges from approximately 15 to 36 months in recent studies, and 5-year survival is only 28% [1].

References
[1] Crawford ED, Petrylak D, Sartor O. Navigating the evolving therapeutic landscape in advanced prostate cancer. Urol Oncol. 2017 May;35S:S1-S13. doi: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2017.01.020.
[2] Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018;68(6):394–424.
[3] Scher 2015 – PLoSONE - Symptomatic mCRPC that has not been treated with or not progressed on chemotherapy

About masitinib
Masitinib is a new orally administered tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets mast cells and macrophages, important cells for immunity, through inhibiting a limited number of kinases. Based on its unique mechanism of action, masitinib can be developed in a large number of conditions in oncology, in inflammatory diseases, and in certain diseases of the central nervous system. In oncology due to its immunotherapy effect, masitinib can have an effect on survival, alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Through its activity on mast cells and microglia and consequently the inhibition of the activation of the inflammatory process, masitinib can have an effect on the symptoms associated with some inflammatory and central nervous system diseases and the degeneration of these diseases.