DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 17, 2024 – Project Purple, a nonprofit dedicated to a world without pancreatic cancer, has awarded $100,000 to Duke University School of Medicine for the completion of the Prevention of Progression to Pancreatic Cancer Trial (3-PC Trial), the first in-human, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled chemoprevention trial for pancreatic adenocarcinoma in patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN), which are cystic precursor lesions of pancreatic cancer. The study is evaluating the efficacy of the anti-inflammatory Sulindac in preventing disease progression.
Peter J. Allen, M.D., chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Vice President for Cancer Services, is leading the trial, with support from Memorial Sloan Kettering, Johns Hopkins and Massachusetts General Hospital. The study began in 2019 and was made possible by a 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health. NIH was unable to fund the final year of the study, providing Project Purple the opportunity to close the funding gap.
“Dr. Allen has homed in on IPMNs as one critical marker of disease progression,” said Dino Verrelli, founder and CEO of Project Purple, “and is intent on seeing this trial through to its completion.”
Earlier this year, Project Purple awarded $250,000 in grants to Duke University School of Medicine for two separate studies exploring the link between IPMNs and pancreatic cancer. Allen is the lead researcher of one of those studies, with the other being led by Elishama Kanu, M.D., general surgery resident in the Duke University School of Medicine Pancreatic Cancer Research Laboratory.
Combined, Project Purple has granted over $1.25 million for pancreatic cancer research initiatives this year.
“We’re incredibly proud of the impact we’ve made in 2024 thanks to our incredible community,” Verrelli said. “We’re determined to make an even bigger impact in 2025.”
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ABOUT PROJECT PURPLE
Founded in 2010, Project Purple is dedicated to a world without pancreatic cancer and improving the care and outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients. It has funded over $3.5 million in research, largely around early detection initiatives such as PRECEDE, the world’s largest high-risk consortium for genetic mutations linked to pancreatic cancer. It helped underwrite Nebraska’s first high-risk clinic for pancreatic cancer and other cutting-edge research initiatives led by leading authorities in the field. The organization has also granted $1 million to patient aid programs, helping families focus on the fight against pancreatic cancer. For more information, go to www.ProjectPurple.org.
