**FDA APPROVES ABRAXANE® IN COMBINATION WITH GEMCITABINE FOR TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC PANCREATIC CANCER**

Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of ABRAXANE®, when combined with the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine, to treat patients with advanced pancreatic cancer that has spread from its original site. This important drug approval follows the results of the phase III clinical trial announced in January by the pharmaceutical company Celgene. This is the first new treatment approved to treat pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the most common type of pancreatic cancer, in nearly eight years.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is pleased about this important step forward in a disease that desperately needs treatment advances. We will continue to work with the medical community to build upon this success and reach our goal to double survival from pancreatic cancer by 2020.

The trial data showed that overall survival increased by nearly two months (8.5 vs. 6.7) in patients who received ABRAXANE and gemcitabine, when compared to gemcitabine alone. A 59 percent increase in one-year survival was also reported.

Clinical trial participation enables treatment advances and gives patients access to state-of-the-art care. We recommend that patients discuss clinical trials with their physician each time a treatment decision is made. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is the leading resource for pancreatic cancer clinical trial information and maintains the most comprehensive and up-to-date database of pancreatic cancer clinical trials in the U.S. We simplify the process of finding clinical trials through our Patient and Liaison Services (PALS) program. PALS Associates provide personalized clinical trials searches, free of charge. Contact PALS, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Pacific Time at 877-272-6226 or PALS@pancan.org.

Sincerely,

Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA President and CEO

Lynn Matrisian, PhD, MBA Vice President, Scientific & Medical Affairs

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