Dec 22 (Reuters) – AstraZeneca said on Monday that a late‑stage trial testing its blockbuster therapy Imfinzi in combination with its experimental drug ceralasertib failed to improve the overall survival of patients with advanced lung cancer.
The LATIFY Phase III trial evaluated 594 patients from over 20 countries whose disease lacked targetable mutations and had progressed after prior immunotherapy and platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced non‑small cell lung cancer.
“While we are disappointed by this result, we remain committed to pioneering new medicines to address the urgent need to improve outcomes for patients with lung cancer through our industry-leading portfolio,” said Susan Galbraith, executive vice-president of oncology haematology research and development at AstraZeneca.
Drug resistance has become a major challenge in oncology, prompting drugmakers to accelerate development of new therapies for patients whose tumours stop responding to existing immunotherapies.
These efforts span immunotherapy, targeted therapy, combination regimens and entirely new drug platforms by global drugmakers such as Merck, Bristol‑Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, among others.
Shares of the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker were down about 1% at 13,542 pence in early trading.
AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi, already approved for several cancers, is a human monoclonal antibody that blocks tumour mechanisms that help cancer evade and suppress the immune system, while enhancing the body’s anti‑cancer immune response and providing an alternative to chemotherapy.
The drugmaker said on Monday that the ceralasertib-Imfinzi combination was generally well tolerated with no new safety concerns identified.
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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