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China approves AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi for advanced non-small cell lung cancer

pharmafile | December 12, 2019 | News story | Sales and Marketing AstraZeneca, Imfinzi, pharma 

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) is set to be made available in China after the country’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) decided to authorise the therapy for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The approval specifically concerns unresectable, Stage 3 forms of the disease in patients whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CRT)

In trials, Imfinzi was shown to reduce the risk of death by 32% and presented a progression-free survival benefit of more than 11 months longer than the 5.6 months offered by placebo.

Additionally, in a follow-up analysis, the overall survival benefit of Imfinzi was shown to last up to three years.

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“This approval illustrates our long-standing commitment to improving health outcomes in China, where more than one-third of the world’s lung cancer diagnoses and deaths occur,” commented Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit at AstraZeneca. “As the global standard of care in this curative-intent setting, Imfinzi is an important new option for patients in China.”

Matt Fellows

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