AstraZeneca announces positive lung cancer treatment trial results

AstraZeneca announced positive high-level results from a phase three trial demonstrating significant advancements in the treatment of limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) on Friday.

The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant said the trial showed that ‘Imfinzi’, or durvalumab, an immunotherapy drug, showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) among LS-SCLC patients who had not progressed following concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT).

LS-SCLC is notorious for its aggressive nature and poor prognosis, with only a minority of patients surviving beyond five years post-diagnosis.

AstraZeneca said small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is characterised by its rapid recurrence and progression despite initial responses to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, particularly in the limited-stage setting.

It said Imfinzi had shown potential to address the challenge by offering improved survival outcomes for patients who had completed cCRT.

The safety profile of Imfinzi in the trial remained consistent with its established safety profile, with no emergence of new safety concerns.

AstraZeneca said the trial results would be presented at an upcoming medical meeting, and shared with regulatory authorities globally to advance the approval process and make the treatment available to patients in need.

Additionally, the trial included a secondary endpoint evaluating the efficacy of ‘Imjudo’, or tremelimumab, in combination with Imfinzi.

That arm of the study remained blinded, with further analysis planned for the future.

Imfinzi is already approved in a number of markets, including the US, EU, Japan, and China, for the treatment of extensive-stage SCLC (ES-SCLC) based on previous clinical trials.

It was also the only approved immunotherapy for curative-intent treatment in unresectable stage three non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

“These exciting results build on the transformative efficacy of Imfinzi in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer and demonstrate the potential to bring a curative-intent immunotherapy treatment to this earlier-stage setting of small cell lung cancer for the first time,” said Susan Galbraith, executive vice-president of oncology research and development at AstraZeneca.

“These data, together with the PACIFIC data in unresectable, stage three non-small cell lung cancer, underscore the pioneering role of Imfinzi in the treatment of early lung cancer following chemoradiotherapy.”

At 0812 BST, shares in AstraZeneca were down 1.06% at 10,622p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.