Dr. Mascarenhas on Potential for Pacritinib to Address an Unmet Need in Myelofibrosis

John O. Mascarenhas, MD, associate professor of medicine, hematology, and medical oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, director of the Adult Leukemia Program, and leader of Clinical Investigation within the Myeloproliferative Disorders Program at Mount Sinai, and a member of the Tisch Cancer Institute, discusses the potential for pacritinib to address an unmet need in the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis.

Currently, patients with low platelet counts do not have the same options as those with high counts, according to Mascarenhas. As such, the availability of pacritinib would significantly change the care of this patient population, Mascarenhas says. The agent could potentially be utilized in the frontline setting for patients who are treatment naïve, and this is being examined in the phase 3 PACIFICA trial (NCT03165734).

Additionally, data from the phase 3 PERSIST-2 trial (NCT02055781) demonstrated that the agent could be used in the second-line setting, as well as in patients with low platelet counts. Approximately one-third of patients who come off ruxolitinib (Jakafi) experience thrombocytopenia. As such, this agent could potentially be utilized in both the frontline and second-line settings in those with thrombocytopenia, which is an area of unmet need, Mascarenhas concludes.