AstraZeneca, MedImmune: Imfinzi Significantly Improved OS In PACIFIC Trial

(RTTNews) - British drug major AstraZeneca (AZN.L, AZN) and MedImmune Inc. (MEDI), the company's global biologics research and development arm, said Tuesday that they presented data on overall survival or OS in the Phase III PACIFIC trial of Imfinzi, during the Presidential Symposium of the IASLC 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer in Toronto, Canada.

Results from the trial were published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine, showing that Imfinzi, or durvalumab, significantly improved OS, the second primary endpoint of the trial, compared to standard of care regardless of PD-L1 expression, reducing the risk of death by 32 percent.

According to the companies, the updated data from the trial reaffirmed unprecedented improvement in progression-free survival of more than 11 months.

Sean Bohen, Executive Vice President of Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer, said, "These data establish Imfinzi as the first immunotherapy to demonstrate an overall survival benefit for patients with unresectable, Stage III non-small cell lung cancer following chemoradiation therapy. Today's announcement brings new hope to patients in a setting where survival rates have not changed in decades."

Imfinzi is currently approved in the U.S., EU, Canada, Switzerland, India, Japan and Brazil based on the PACIFIC trial. Other global health authority reviews and submissions are ongoing.