Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has announced top-line results from preclinical studies evaluating a three-drug combination of Aramchol, Stivarga® (regorafenib), and metformin for gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. The studies demonstrated a synergistic effect in enhancing GI tumor cell killing both in vivo and in vitro. Galmed reported that this combination has the potential to serve as a new fixed-dose treatment, which could extend the commercial lifecycle of Stivarga® as its main patents are set to expire in Europe in August 2028 and in the U.S. in July 2032. New patent applications have been submitted to the USPTO. The company plans to initiate a Phase 1b clinical trial at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center in early 2026, targeting metastatic colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and cholangiocarcinoma, with a planned expansion cohort including metformin. The results from this clinical study have not yet been presented.