Precision Strikes: A New Tactic in the War on Pancreatic Cancer

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – June 11, 2026 – Pancreatic cancer remains one of modern medicine’s most formidable adversaries, a disease notorious for its late-stage diagnosis and resistance to treatment. With a five-year survival rate lingering in the single digits, innovation is not just welcome; it is a desperate necessity. Now, a peer-reviewed case study from researchers at the esteemed Moffitt Cancer Center offers a significant glimmer of hope, detailing a novel approach that re-imagines how chemotherapy can be deployed against this stubborn foe.

Published in Radiology Case Reports, the study showcases the use of RenovoRx's Trans-Arterial Micro-Perfusion (TAMP™) platform to deliver chemotherapy directly to a tumor in a patient with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). The results suggest a new paradigm in both treatment delivery and efficacy measurement, where the metabolic death of a tumor may precede any visible change in its size.

A New Frontline Tactic for a Stubborn Foe

For the majority of patients diagnosed with LAPC, the tumor has already wrapped itself around critical blood vessels, rendering surgical removal impossible. The standard of care—systemic intravenous chemotherapy—is a blunt instrument, flooding the entire body with toxic agents to attack the cancer, often causing debilitating side effects that limit the dose and duration of treatment. Furthermore, pancreatic tumors are encased in a dense, fibrous wall known as the stroma, which acts as a physical barrier, preventing systemically delivered drugs from reaching their target in sufficient concentrations.

This is the challenge RenovoRx aims to solve. The company's TAMP platform utilizes the FDA-cleared RenovoCath®, a sophisticated dual-balloon catheter. In a procedure, interventional radiologists navigate the catheter through the vascular system to the artery feeding the tumor. Two tiny balloons are then inflated, temporarily isolating that segment of the artery. Chemotherapy, in this case gemcitabine, is then infused into the isolated space under pressure, forcing the drug across the vessel wall to “bathe” the tumor in high concentrations while minimizing leakage into the rest of the body.

The recently published case study details the treatment of an 82-year-old patient with unresectable LAPC. The Moffitt Cancer Center team, led by Dr. Bela Kis, encountered a common anatomical hurdle: a small branching artery was siphoning blood flow, which would have compromised the TAMP procedure's ability to build localized pressure. In a first-of-its-kind maneuver performed during the same procedure, the team successfully sealed off the problematic branch using tiny coils and surgical glue. This embolization enabled optimal, targeted delivery of gemcitabine.

“LAPC is already difficult-to-treat, and a pancreaticoduodenal artery (PDA) side branch adds another challenge to targeted therapy,” said Dr. Kis, the first author of the case study. He explained that the TAMP system “creates localized intra-arterial pressure that drives therapeutic agents across the vessel wall near the tumor.” The patient went on to tolerate eight TAMP procedures over four months without complications—a testament to the localized approach's potential for improved safety and tolerability.

Beyond Size: Why Metabolic Response is the New Benchmark

The most compelling finding from the case study lies not just in the innovative procedure, but in how its success was measured. At the four-month follow-up, conventional CT scans—which measure anatomical size—showed “stable disease,” meaning the tumor had not grown, but it had not shrunk either. On its own, this result might be considered a modest success at best.

However, a more advanced imaging technique, PET-CT, told a dramatically different story. PET-CT scans track metabolic activity by measuring the uptake of radioactive glucose (FDG). Active cancer cells are highly metabolic and consume large amounts of glucose. The patient's PET-CT scan revealed a 52% reduction in tumor metabolic activity, a powerful indicator that the chemotherapy had done its job and a significant portion of the cancer cells were either dead or dying.

This discrepancy underscores a critical shift in oncology: tumor size is an increasingly outdated metric for treatment success. “Detecting a metabolic response this early, before the tumor even shrinks, is a potential game-changer,” noted a nuclear medicine specialist familiar with advanced oncology imaging. “It tells us the therapy is working on a cellular level, offering a much more immediate and sensitive signal of efficacy than waiting for anatomical changes that can take months to appear.”

Dr. Kis echoed this sentiment, stating, “We were encouraged by this case because the patient completed all eight RenovoCath-enabled TAMP treatments without complications. At the four-month follow-up, PET-CT imaging showed stable disease, while metabolic imaging indicated a positive treatment response.”

A Dual Strategy: Commercial Traction Fuels Clinical Ambition

For RenovoRx, this case study is more than just a scientific validation; it’s a crucial piece of a larger strategic puzzle. The company is pursuing a dual strategy: generating near-term revenue by commercializing its FDA-cleared RenovoCath device, while simultaneously advancing its high-potential drug-device combination product, intra-arterial gemcitabine (IAG), through a pivotal Phase III clinical trial.

Publications like this bolster both fronts. They provide real-world evidence of RenovoCath's utility and procedural flexibility, encouraging its adoption by more cancer centers. The company is already seeing momentum, with record sales of $563,000 in the first quarter of 2026 and a growing roster of top-tier cancer institutes initiating orders.

Simultaneously, this evidence builds confidence in the underlying TAMP platform, which is the foundation of the ongoing TIGeR-PaC Phase III trial. That study is comparing IAG directly against the systemic standard of care for LAPC. With enrollment expected to complete this month and a final data readout anticipated in mid-to-late 2027, the trial represents the company’s primary long-term value driver. A positive outcome could lead to a new FDA-approved standard of care for this patient population, backed by an Orphan Drug Designation that provides seven years of market exclusivity.

“These findings further strengthen the growing body of peer-reviewed evidence supporting the procedural flexibility and targeted delivery capabilities of our TAMP therapy platform enabled by RenovoCath,” said Dr. Ramtin Agah, RenovoRx’s Chief Medical Officer. “They also show how physicians may be able to address anatomical challenges to optimize targeted intra-arterial therapy.”

The Broader Competitive Landscape

RenovoRx’s approach is unique in a landscape increasingly focused on developing new molecular entities. While other companies are searching for the next blockbuster drug targeting specific genetic mutations like KRAS or BRCA, RenovoRx is perfecting a delivery system. This platform-based strategy makes it drug-agnostic, capable of delivering existing, proven chemotherapies like gemcitabine—and potentially others like oxaliplatin, for which it recently received an Orphan Drug Designation—more effectively and with fewer side effects.

Recent pharmacokinetic data presented at the ASCO annual meeting further validated this core premise, showing that the TAMP method results in lower systemic levels of gemcitabine but higher local concentrations at the tumor. This scientific rigor, combined with a pragmatic commercial strategy and a clear clinical path forward, positions RenovoRx in the early innings of a potentially transformative shift in oncology. All eyes in the field will now be on the TIGeR-PaC trial, which could ultimately confirm whether these precision strikes can turn the tide in the difficult war against pancreatic cancer.