Israeli Company Develops New Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer

For the first time in 30 years, the FDA has approved a medical device that has shown to lengthen the lives of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The device, which is marketed under the name Optune Pax, was developed by Novocure, which had its beginning in Israel more than 25 years ago.

Optune Pax is a noninvasive device that is worn outside the body near the site of the cancerous tumor. It works though adhesive body patches attached to the abdomen that receive a tumor treating field from a small electrical generator worn in a pouch outside the body. The electric impulses interfere with how the cancerous cells divide.

The alternating electrical fields work without damaging the surrounding healthy tissues and those being treated can go about their usual routine. Although the treatment is not a cure, the new device interrupts the tumor’s ability to grow, which, according to research data, can lengthen the lives of patients and improve the quality of their lives.

According to the data from a large Phase 3 clinical study, which was evaluated by the FDA, the survival rate of patients who utilized the device with common drug treatments for the condition have lived nearly two months longer than those on the drugs alone.

The study also showed that the technology lessened the pain of pancreatic cancer in patients that had tumors that cannot be removed surgically but have not spread to other organs of the body. It delayed the onset of severe pain by nearly six months, from 9.1 months in the group using only drugs to 15.2 months in the group using the device with drugs.

According to Dr. Michelle Tarver, who heads the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, pancreatic cancer is one of the most challenging cancers to treat. It is usually diagnosed late in the development of the disease and tumors can grow quickly. Although pancreatic cancers only account for just over 3 percent of all cases of the illness, because of the limited treatment options the disorder claims a disproportionate number of lives.

“This approval provides a novel, non-invasive approach that can be integrated into patients’ daily lives,” Tarver said, “expanding access to cancer care beyond traditional clinical settings.”

According to information published by the National Cancer Institute, pancreatic cancer resulted in approximately 67,440 new diagnoses and 51,980 deaths in the U.S. in 2025. It is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in America. In recent years, there has been a marked rise in new cases, particularly among younger patients.

Novocure began as an Israeli medical technology start-up which based its research on the work of Yoram Palti, a professor of physiology and biophysics at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. He also served as the director of the school’s medical research institute.

Although the company’s international headquarters have moved to Switzerland, the company still operates a research and development center and does some manufacturing in Israel. Professor Palti was a recipient of the Israel Prize for his work and was the firm’s chief technology officer. He died in January at the age of 88.

The firm’s biotechnology products have been previously approved for glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, and mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer that has developed particularly among workers who have been involved in the use of asbestos products. That cancer develops in the tissues that surround the lung.

Along with the approval of the device comes encouraging results of a new drug for pancreatic cancer that could double the time patients now live.  The drug, daraxonrasib, has been developed by the clinical oncology company, Revolution Medicines. In a 500-person Phase Three trial, it was shown that the drug, taken once a day, can reduce the risk of death by 60 percent compared to existing treatments.

According to Dr. Brian Wolpin, principal investigator for the trial, the new treatment could be particularly effective for those patients who face the continued spread of the cancer while on existing chemotherapies.

“I believe that this new approach is a very important advance for the field,” Dr. Wolpin said. “I expect it will be practice-changing for physicians and improve the care for patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer.”

Late-stage patients on chemotherapy typically live for an average of 6.7 months after treatment. But those taking a 300-milligram dose of daraxonrasib each day lived for 13.2 months.

The new trial, which is ongoing, found that patients with late-stage pancreatic cancer who took a 300 milligram dose of daraxonrasib extended their life expectancy from 6.7 months to 13.2 months. The drug is said to block a class of gene that regulates the growth of cells that when they mutate can cause cancer.