AstraZeneca reaches another milestone with Imfinzi trial

AstraZeneca, along with its biologics research and development arm MedImmune, announced positive overall survival results for the Phase III PACIFIC trial on Friday.

The FTSE 100 drugmaker described PACIFIC as a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multi-centre trial of Imfinzi (durvalumab) in patients with unresectable Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whose disease had not progressed following platinum-based chemotherapy concurrent with radiation therapy (CRT).

It said a planned interim analysis conducted by an independent data monitoring committee concluded that the trial has met its second of two primary endpoints by showing statistically-significant overall survival benefit with clinically-meaningful improvement in patients receiving Imfinzi compared to placebo.

The safety and tolerability profile for Imfinzi was said to be consistent with that reported at the time of the progression-free survival analysis.

AstraZeneca planned to present results from the PACIFIC trial at a forthcoming medical meeting.

“The readout of positive overall survival data at the interim analysis of the PACIFIC trial provides additional compelling evidence of the clinical benefit that Imfinzi can offer patients in this earlier stage of lung cancer,” said AstraZeneca’s chief medical officer Sean Bohen.

“We look forward to sharing these results with health authorities to support ongoing regulatory interactions and to update the Imfinzi label with these important data.”

In May last year, AstraZeneca announced that the PACIFIC trial met its first primary endpoint of progression-free survival by demonstrating a median improvement of 11.2 months compared to placebo, as assessed by blinded independent central review.

Imfinzi is currently approved in the US and Canada for the treatment of patients with unresectable Stage III NSCLC who had not progressed following platinum-based chemoradiation therapy.

It was currently under regulatory review in the EU, Japan and other jurisdictions with expected decisions in the second half of 2018.