AstraZeneca Lung Cancer Drug Gets EU Approval

AstraZeneca Plc’s AZN developmental drug – Imfinizi, has been approved by the European Commission after the Phase 3 clinical trial yielded positive results.

What Happened: Imfinizi is the first line of treatment for adults with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer in choice with other treatments like chemotherapy. 

The late-stage clinical trials indicated that the drug not only improved overall survival benefit but also improved response rates of patients suffering from small cell lung cancer, AstraZeneca said.

Results from a trial in June 2019 showed that Imfinizi and Chemotherapy collectively reduced the risk of death by 27% compared to survival rates based solely on chemotherapy treatments, according to the United Kingdom-based biopharma company. Even the confirmed objective response rate was higher when both treatments were used together instead of chemotherapy alone.

Why It Matters: The lung cancer drug also has the approval of regulators in the United States, Japan, China, and several other countries.

In addition to the breakthrough in the EU, AstraZeneca also successfully managed to move its COVID-19 vaccine into the Phase 3 trials in the U.S. 

The company is enrolling up to 30,000 participants for these trials in the U.S. and aiming for over 50,000 across the globe.

Farxiga is another one of the company’s drugs that has shown promise by prolonging the survival of chronic kidney disease patients, the company said in a separate statement on Sunday.

Price Movement: AstraZeneca shares traded 0.36% higher at $56 in the pre-market session Tuesday.