AstraZeneca Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treatment Imfinzi Approved in China
19 July 2021 - 4:44PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Hoppe
AstraZeneca PLC said Monday that its Imfinzi immunotherapy
treatment for extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer has been
approved in China for first-line treatment of adult patients, in
combination with chemotherapy.
The pharmaceutical company said the approval by China's National
Medical Products Administration was based on positive results from
the Caspian Phase 3 trial. The trial showed Imfinzi, together with
chemotherapy, demonstrated a significant and clinically meaningful
improvement in overall survival when compared to just chemotherapy
alone.
Small-cell lung cancer is an aggressive and fast-growing lung
cancer that often recurs and progresses rapidly despite initial
chemotherapy responses. Only 3% of patients with the
extensive-stage disease will be alive five years after
diagnosis.
The trial, conducted in more than 200 centers across 23
countries, met its primary endpoint of overall survival in June
2019 when it reduced the risk of death by 27% when compared to
chemotherapy alone. An updated analysis showed sustained efficiency
after more than two years on average.
The results also showed an increased confirmed objective
response rate for Imfinzi and chemotherapy of 68%, compared with
58% for chemotherapy alone, and the combination delayed the time
taken for disease symptoms to worsen.
Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 19, 2021 02:31 ET (06:31 GMT)
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