It may not be the trial that AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN, NYSE:AZN) investors are pinning their hopes on, but the big pharma group has already achieved some success in the lung cancer space after revealing “positive results” for its Phase III PACIFIC trial.
The initial results show that Imfinzi (or durvalumab as some might know it) met one of its primary endpoints by showing “statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful” progression free survival.
The other primary endpoint evaluating overall survival will be assessed in due course, Astra added.
Getting past the jargon, the results so far show that the drug reduced the risk of a patient’s lung cancer worsening or causing death.
It’s a boost for the company which hopes the drug will become a blockbuster drug generating billions of dollars in sales each year.
“These are highly encouraging results for patients with locally-advanced lung cancer for whom surgery is not an option,” said Astra’s chief medical officer Sean Bohen.
“Alongside this, we continue to explore Imfinzi's full potential as monotherapy as well as in combination with tremelimumab and other medicines in areas of continued unmet need across multiple types of cancer.”
Bodes well for MYSTIC trial
The next step in the analysis of the trial will be to see if Imfinzi improved overall survival.
Astra will look at how many of its patients survived after treatment and for how long, and compare it with others in the trial who had been given a placebo. It will then see if there is an improvement versus the current standard of care – chemotherapy.
Today’s results bode well for the upcoming readout of the MYSTIC trial, which is also a Phase III study looking to treat lung cancer.
In this trial, Imfinzi is being tested in combination with tremelimumab – a treatment which is seen as high-risk by the markets but one that, should it come off, could be a game changer for the company and the industry as a whole.
With Imfinzi coming up trumps in today’s trial readout, it would seem Astra’s chances of getting MYSTIC across the line have improved slightly.
The renewed optimism in an area that is likely to shape AstraZeneca’s near term future was reflected in the share price this morning, which opened up more than 5% higher at £49.86.
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