NANOBIOTIX (Euronext: NANO –– NASDAQ: NBTX – the ‘‘Company’’), a late-stage clinical biotechnology company pioneering nanotherapeutic approaches to improve treatment outcomes for patients with cancer, today announced the presentation of full results from the completed dose escalation and dose expansion phases of a Phase 1 study evaluating JNJ-1900 (NBTXR3) in patients with locally advanced or borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. The study, conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (“MD Anderson”), was presented by principal investigator Dr. Eugene Koay at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO 2025).
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies, driven by aggressive tumor biology and limited responsiveness to standard therapies. For patients with locally advanced (“LAPC”) or borderline resectable (“BRPC”) disease, the current standard-of-care (“SOC”)—induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation—rarely delivers curative outcomes, underscoring the need for novel treatment approaches.
“Patients with locally advanced or borderline resectable pancreatic cancer face a particularly urgent unmet need for therapeutic innovation that can provide a meaningful survival benefit with an acceptable safety profile,” said Eugene Koay, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson. “We are encouraged by the results from the completed cohorts and look forward to the continued evaluation of JNJ-1900 (NBTXR3) in combination with standard-of-care chemoradiation after induction chemotherapy.”
PRESENTATION #E25-2265: NANORAY Pancreas: A Phase 1 Study of NBTXR3 (JNJ-1900) Activated by Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced or Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer (LAPC or BRPC)
Koay EJ, Liu S, Guerrero P, Stokes E, Katz MHG, Ikoma N, Snyder RA, Tzeng CD, Overman MJ, Pant S, Wolff RA, Javle M, Holliday EB, Ludmir EB, Das P, Noticewala S, Koong AC, Tamm EP, Bhutani M
This MD Anderson-sponsored Phase 1 study evaluated the potential of radiotherapy(“RT”)-activated JNJ-1900 (NBTXR3) activated by radiation therapy (45 Gy in 15 fractions) to overcome inherent radioresistance in patients with LAPC or BRPC. The majority of patients in the study (20/22) were diagnosed with locally advanced, unresectable disease (LAPC). For clarity, patients with LAPC or BRPC are traditionally treated with induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiation. The treatment regimen in the completed dose escalation and dose expansion parts of this Phase 1 study replaced concurrent chemoradiation with RT-activated JNJ-1900 (NBTXR3) after induction chemotherapy.
Key Results:
- Favorable safety profile and injection feasibility were observed (n=22)
- Median overall survival (“mOS”): 23 months from diagnosis [95% CI; 17 months – not reached]
- For context, an MD Anderson historical review of 144 patients with LAPC treated at the same center showed a mOS of 19.2 months. Patients in the historical review received induction chemotherapy followed by RT with or without concurrent or maintenance chemotherapy (80% received RT with concurrent chemotherapy)
- Median local progression-free survival (“mLPFS”): 13.3 months from completion of radiation
- Two LAPC patients achieved R0 surgical resection
Exploratory Biomarker Analyses:
- Of the 20 patients for whom circulating Tumor Mutational Burden (cTMB) data was available, a notable proportion (40%; 8/20) exhibited increased cTMB, and investigators observed an association between increased cTMB and improved LPFS and OS
- Normalization of CA19-9, a surrogate for overall survival benefit, was observed in 59% of patients (11/22) and was associated with longer survival in the study.
- For context, an MD Anderson historical review of 243 patients with LAPC treated at the same center showed normalization of CA19-9 in approximately 17% of patients treated with the standard of care who had elevated CA19-9 levels at diagnosis
Based on the safety and preliminary efficacy findings, investigators concluded that further evaluation of JNJ-1900 (NBTXR3) is warranted in a randomized study.
“Our collaboration with MD Anderson has always been driven by a shared commitment to exploring bold new approaches for patients with high unmet need,” said Louis Kayitalire, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Nanobiotix. “Given the extremely poor survival rates in LAPC and BRPC, the results from this Phase 1 study give us confidence in the potential of JNJ-1900 (NBTXR3) to serve as a meaningful addition to the treatment landscape. We are particularly excited about the potential to further enhance outcomes through combination of JNJ-1900 (NBTXR3) with SOC chemoradiation in the study’s new active cohort, and we look forward to advancing this program in pancreatic cancer.”
MD Anderson received FDA clearance to expand the study to include a new cohort that combines of JNJ-1900 (NBTXR3) with SOC concurrent chemoradiation after induction chemotherapy. The first patient in the new cohort has been injected, and recruitment is ongoing.
