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AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi flops in advanced treatment-naive non-small cell lung cancer

pharmafile | August 21, 2019 | News story | Research and Development AstraZeneca, Cancer, Imfinzi, lung cancer, pharma 

New data have emerged illustrating that AstraZeneca’s anti-CTLA4 antibody Imfinzi (durvalumab) failed to meet its primary endpoint when used in combination with tremelimumab in the treatment of previously-untreated Stage IV (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), compared to standard-of-care (SoC) platinum-based chemotherapy.

The study was performed in an all-comers population, with a primary analysis of patients with a high tumour mutational burden (TMB), meaning a higher number of mutations in the tumour’s DNA, potentially making it more visible to the immune system.

The combo failed to adequately extend overall survival in patients whose blood TMB was 20 or more mutations per megabase; however, the safety of the two constituent drugs was found to be consistent with previous knowledge.

José Baselga, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D said: “We are fully committed to a deep analysis of the vast clinical and biomarker data from this trial to gain further insights to improve Immuno-Oncology approaches for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.”

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Fully details of the findings would be revealed at an upcoming medical meeting, the company confirmed.

Matt Fellows

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