Key Highlights

  • Collaboration with Eli Lilly — the world's largest pharmaceutical company by Market Capitalisation — announced to explore narmafotinib combined with Lilly's kRAS inhibitor olomorasib in non-small cell lung cancer
  • ACCENT trial in pancreatic cancer nearing completion with a complete response rate of 7.8% — described as unprecedented — and an overall response rate of 36%
  • Median progression-free survival and median overall survival improvements of 2–3 months over chemotherapy alone, without significant worsening of tolerability
  • One patient remains on study after 19 months and two additional patients have completed 24 months, demonstrating durable responses in a cancer with a historically poor prognosis

ACCENT Trial Data Continues to Generate Scientific and Commercial Interest

Amplia Therapeutics Limited (ASX:ATX), the Melbourne-based oncology and fibrosis drug developer listed on the ASX under the ticker ATX, released its quarterly activities and Cash Flow report for the September 2026 quarter, presenting an update on its lead investigational drug narmafotinib — a small molecule focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor — at what the company describes as a pivotal stage of its clinical programme.

The ACCENT trial, evaluating narmafotinib in combination with chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, is nearing completion. The data presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) has continued to generate interest from clinicians, scientists, and potential commercial partners. In pancreatic cancer — where median survival historically measured in months and five-year survival rates remain in the low single digits — the ACCENT data points deserve careful context.

Parsing the ACCENT Numbers

The trial reported a median progression-free survival and median overall survival improvement of 2–3 months over chemotherapy alone. In pancreatic cancer, this is a clinically meaningful Delta given the limited efficacy of existing second-line options. The overall response rate of 36% — rising to 42% when unconfirmed responses are included — compares favourably with chemotherapy-alone historical benchmarks in this indication.

The complete response rate of 7.8% is the figure that has drawn the most attention. Complete responses, where tumours become undetectable on imaging, are rare in pancreatic cancer, and Amplia describes this rate as unprecedented in the published literature for this disease setting. One patient remains on study after 19 months at the time of reporting, and two patients have completed 24 months — survival durations that are exceptional in the context of a disease where median overall survival with standard chemotherapy is typically around 8–12 months.

Eli Lilly Collaboration Validates the FAK Inhibitor Mechanism

The announcement during August 2026 of a collaboration with Eli Lilly — by market capitalisation, the world's largest pharmaceutical company — to explore narmafotinib in combination with Lilly's kRAS inhibitor olomorasib in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a development that extends well beyond the pancreatic cancer focus. FAK and kRAS are known to interact in tumour biology, and the scientific rationale for combining a FAK inhibitor with a kRAS inhibitor in KRAS-mutant lung cancers is grounded in pre-clinical evidence.

Eli Lilly's willingness to explore this combination reflects both the scientific credibility of Amplia's programme and the commercial interest in combinations that might address resistance mechanisms in the emerging kRAS inhibitor market. For Amplia as a small-cap developer, having Lilly as a collaboration partner substantially elevates the profile and potential commercial validation of narmafotinib.

A peer-reviewed publication detailing narmafotinib's activity across preclinical pancreatic cancer models is now available online, providing additional scientific infrastructure for the programme.

Risks

Clinical stage oncology companies carry inherent binary risk: Phase 2 trial data, even when promising, does not guarantee regulatory approval or commercial success. The ACCENT trial's completion will be followed by a data maturation period before final survival analyses are possible. The NSCLC collaboration with Eli Lilly is exploratory in nature, and a positive collaboration outcome is not assured. Amplia's cash position, as disclosed in its Appendix 4C, will be a key variable in determining the pace at which the company can progress its pipeline and pursue partnering conversations.

What to Watch Next

Final ACCENT trial data — including mature overall survival analysis — will be the defining near-term catalyst. Any progression of the Eli Lilly collaboration from exploratory to formal clinical programme would represent a significant commercial development. Investor and analyst attention will also focus on any announcements regarding partnering discussions for narmafotinib in pancreatic cancer, where the completed ACCENT dataset would form the basis for licensing or co-development conversations.

Sector Context

FAK inhibitors represent a class of targeted oncology agents that have faced a long development pathway, with earlier compounds encountering efficacy and tolerability challenges. Narmafotinib's differentiated profile — particularly the tolerability data from ACCENT — suggests Amplia may have identified a clinically viable formulation of this mechanism. The kRAS inhibitor market, now commercialised through Amgen's sotorasib and Mirati's adagrasib, represents one of oncology's most active areas of drug development, and combination strategies with Downstream signalling inhibitors are a major focus for the field.