AstraZeneca and MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, today announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved Imfinzi (durvalumab) as maintenance therapy after definitive chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in locally-advanced (Stage III), unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Head of the Oncology Business Unit said: “Non-small cell lung cancer is a leading cause of death in Japan, and we are dedicated to bringing new treatment options to patients as quickly as possible. As the only immunotherapy approved in the curative-intent, Stage III lung cancer setting, Imfinzi has the potential to change the treatment paradigm for patients diagnosed with this disease.”
The approval of Imfinzi is based on positive progression-free survival (PFS) data from the Phase III PACIFIC trial in unresectable Stage III NSCLC. In the trial, Imfinzi demonstrated an improvement in median PFS of 11.2 months compared to placebo. Imfinzi improved other meaningful outcomes such as time to distant metastasis or death and overall response rates. Detailed results of the PACIFIC trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine(NEJM).