SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) today announced the company’s lead compound, cabozantinib, is highlighted in a new peer-reviewed publication demonstrating that simultaneous inhibition of MET and VEGF signaling reduces tumor invasiveness and metastasis in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer. The research, led by Dr. Donald M. McDonald at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), showed that selective inhibition of VEGF signaling with a neutralizing antibody against VEGF or with a small molecule kinase inhibitor resulted in more invasive and metastatic tumors than from placebo-treated mice. Importantly, this effect was accompanied by increased expression of MET. The researchers went on to show that treatment with cabozantinib (which targets both MET and VEGF signaling), or with a combination of selective inhibitors targeting both pathways, reduced these malignant processes. The researchers also reported that cabozantinib prolonged survival compared with all other treatment combinations examined.
