Sandra Chapman/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - A local woman battling one of the most deadly forms of cancer is pushing for the early release of clinical trial drugs. Her family is drawing attention to her plight and that of actor Patrick Swayze.
"This raging pain went up my back. This is the most painful cancer there is. That's what I was told," said Connie Loughman, pancreatic cancer patient.
Loughman lives with the pain and prognosis of inoperable stage four pancreatic cancer. Ninety percent of those diagnosed in her condition live less than a year. So far she's survived seven months.
"I thought at 62, I'm not going to go to hospice, I refuse to do that. So I decided we're going to fight this," Loughman said.
Loughman's body rejected her first experimental drugs. Now her family says there's new hope for their mother and patients like actor Patrick Swayze.
It's a breakthrough gene therapy called TNFerade. But they say GenVec, the company that makes it, is standing in the way.
"There's people that are dying every day with this disease when they could be cured," said Jackie Loughman, daughter.
"I don't think it's a cure," said Douglas Swirsky, GenVec senior vice president, in a telephone interview. "I think it's certainly possible that some patients treated may have better outcomes than others. Cure is a word that companies don't like to throw around. This is a very tough disease."
Early trial data for TNFerade is encouraging. Patients showed up to eight months of improved living and only five of the 33 who received the drug died.
"Why won't they release this medicine to me? Why can't I have it? Why do I have to suffer like this?" Connie Loughman wondered.
The FDA does allow what's called "compassionate use," but GenVec says they're just not ready.
"Our heart does go out to this family and anyone else that's suffering," said Swirsky. "If we were in a position to help, we certainly would. We don't have the drug supply to do it. And we think the data isn't there yet to support a compassionate use program, but we're very close."
Pancreatic Cancer is expected to affect 37,000 people this year, so there's clearly a need for better treatment. GenVec is testing 333 patients. A third of those participants will not get TNFerade either. The company says the earliest it could possibly offer "compassionate use" is next year.
Learn more about the clinical trial
Learn more about the data
Connie Loughman
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